UC-NRLF 


HF  B    3    110 

3oo  g~------ 


PBOCEEDINGS 


NATIONAL 


j  COMMERCIAL  CONVENTION, 


HELD    IN    BOSTON, 


FEBRUARY,  1808. 


PUBLISHED    HV    OH!)!  I;    «)!•' 


B  O  S  T  0  N  : 

1868. 

J.     II.     1.  A  >   I    I:  I    UN'S     1'K 


GIFT  OF 


PROCEEDINGS 


OF    THE 


NATIONAL 


COMMERCIAL  CONVENTION, 


HELD    IN    BOSTON. 


FEBRUARY,  1868. 


BY   OKDKR   OF   T1IK   CONVENTION'. 


BOSTON: 

1868. 

J.    H.    EASTBURX'S    PRESS. 


H 


TABLE  OF  CONTENTS. 


PAOK. 

INTRODUCTORY   NOTE, v 

FIRST  DAY'S  PROCEEDINGS  : 

Opening  Exercises, 1 

Mr.  Nazro's  Address, 1 

Temporary  Organization, 7 

Mr.  Fraley's  Address, 

List  of  Members, 19 

Permanent  Oflieers, 27 

The  President's  Address, 28 

Rules  and  Orders, 29 

Arrangements  for  Recreation, 39 

SECOND  DAY'S  PROCEEDINGS: 

Invitation  from  the  Legislature, 43 

Committee  on  the  Order  of  Business, 48 

"    Currency  and  Finance, 50 

"    Taxation, 51 

"    Transportation, 51 

"    Commerce, 52 

"   Manufactures, 53 

"  "   National  Chamber  of  Commerce, 53 

"   "Weights  and  Measures, 54 

Mr.  "Walbridge's  Speech  on  Internal  Improvements, 58 

THIRD  DAY'S  PROCEEDINGS: 

Report  on  Order  of  Business, 

"         "   National  Chamber  of  Commerce, 80 

"   Weights  and  Measures, 

"         "   Manufactures, 

Resolution  on  Direct  Importations  to  the  Interior, 

Debate         " 

Resolution  on  Specific  Duties, 

Report  on  Taxation, 

Debate  on  Relief  to  the  South,. . . 

Report  on  Transportation  and  Internal  Improvements, Ill 

Debate  - 

Resolution  in  reference  to  the  South,. . . 
Debate  on  a  National  Railroad  Law,. . . 
Report  on  Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce,. .. 
Debate  "         " 

Mr.  Tobcy's  remarks, 

Mr.  Atkinson's   "       

Mr.  Hichborn's  "       


JV  TABLE    OF    CONTENTS. 

PAGE. 

Report  on  Currency  and  Finance, J  4- 

Dcbate  " 

Mr.  Field's  Resolutions, 144 

Mr.  Buzhy's  remarks, I"*5 

Debute  on  Inter-State  Commerce: 

Mr.  Brvson's  Resolution, 150 

Mr.  Covinjrton's  remarks, 1 52 

Mr.  Holton's  "         153 

Mr.  Brvson's  1 54 

Mr.  Walbridge'a      "        156 

FOURTH  DAY'S  PROCEEDINGS: 

Debate  on  Currency  and  Finance  : 

Mr.  Ropcs's  remarks 1 59 

Mr.  Nazro's  Resolution, 161 

Mr.  Turpin's  Amendment, 161 

Mr.  Dore's  remarks, 162 

Mr.  Buzby's      "       164 

Mr.  Wood's       "       165 

Mr.  Taylor's      "       166 

Mr.  We'theriU's"  ...168 


Mr.  Field's  

Mr.  Stevens's  Amendment,. 
Mr.  Stevens's  remarks, 


re 


Mr.  Davis's  Amendment, 

Mr.  Alexander's  remarks, 

Mr.  Herrick's  "       182 

Mr.  Endicott's  "       184 

Mr.  McChcsney's  189 

Mr.  Atkinson's         "       1 90 

Mr.  Cole's  Resolution, 195 

Mr.  Gano's  Resolutions  of  thanks, 1 96 

Debate  on  Currency  and  Finance,  resumed  : 

Mr.  Fraley 's  remarks, 1 99 

The  Resolutions  as  adopted, 205 

The  President's  closing  Address, 208 

Adjournment, 210 

APPKXDIX  : 

BANgl'KT    AT    THE    Ml'SIC    IlALL, 213 

VISIT  TO  THE  LEGISLATURE, 241 

INDEX,..  ...245 


INTRODUCTORY   NOTE. 


on  on 


THE  Commercial  Convention  held  in  Detroit,  in  18G5,  was  the  first  occasi 
which  the  merchants  of  the  nation  assembled  together;  to  consult  in  reference  to 
those  great  industrial  and  financial  questions  in  which  they  have  a  common  interest. 
That  Convention  was  called  in  the  hope  and  belief,  that  the  members  composing  it, 
forgetting  for  the  moment  the  particular  branch  of  enterprise  with  the  prosperity  of 
which  they  were  as  individuals  more  especially  identified,  and  laying  aside  also  tem 
porarily,  local  considerations  and  preferences,  would  endeavor  to  ascertain  what 
would  best  advance  the  interests  of  the  country  at  large,  as  it  was  then  situated,  and 
give  definite  expression  to  the  opinions  which  they  might  reach,  for  the  information 
of  their  fellow-citizens,  and  especially  of  the  representatives  of  the  people  charged 
with  the  duty  of  framing  the  national  legislation.  The  experiment  was  in  a  good 
degree  successful.  The  attendance  of  delegates  was  large;  the  discussions  were 
sustained  with  ability;  germane  and  valuable  statistics  were  supplied;  and  broad 
and  comprehensive  views  were  unfolded  of  the  resources,  the  capabilities  and  the 
necessities  of  the  nation.  It  was  encouraging  to  hear  commercial  questions 
debated  so  thoroughly,  upon  their  merits,  by  men  who  had  a  practical  knowledge 
of  what  they  were  talking  about,  and  entirely  apart  from  all  j>olitieal  and  jwrty 
considerations. 

The  Detroit  Convention,  if  it  produced  no  other  result,  impressed  business  men 
with  a  new  conviction  of  the  important  influence  which,  in  the  sphere  appropriate 
to  its  exercise,  they  might  legitimately  exert  upon  public  sentiment,  by  unity  of 
purpose  and  of  action.  The  activity  and  efficiency  of  the  various  Boards  of  Trade 
and  Chambers  of  Commerce,  undoubtedly  received  from  it  a  new  imjnilsc  ;  but  it 
had  become  apparent  that  something  more  than  the  agency  of  these  associations,  in 
their  individual  and  independent  capacity,  was  necessarv  to  the  complete  attainment 
of  the  desired  result.  It  was  determined  therefore,  not  only  to  hold  a  second  general 
Convention,  but  also,  to  use  the  occasion  for  the  organization  of  a  National  Cham 
ber  of  Commerce,  by  means  of  which  relations  of  an  intimate  and  a  jxTinanent 
character  might  be  established  between  the  Ixxlies  which  would  IK'  assembled  in  it. 

The  duty  of  calling  this  Convention  was  devolved  ujion  the  Boston  Board  of 
Trade.  A  Committee,  who  for  some  time  had  the  subject  under  advisement, 
reported  favorably  in  reference  to  it,  on  the  second  of  December,  1807,  and  the  Board 
voted  to  adopt  their  recommendations,  on  the  sixteenth  of  the  same  month.  A 
Committee  of  Arrangements  was  chosen,  with  the  Hon.  F.  W.  LINCOLN,  Jr.,  for 
Chairman;  and  the  text  of  the  call  to  be  issued,  was  agreed  upon,  as  follows  : 

"  You  are  hereby  cordially  and  respectfully  invited  and  requested  to  appoint  dele 
gates,  on  the  basis  of  one  delegate  to  even'  fifty  members,  to  a  Commercial  Conven 
tion  representing  all  the  Boards  of  Trade  and  Chambers  of  Commerce  in  the  United 


vi  INTRODUCTORY    NOTE. 

States,  organized  at  tin-  present  date,  to  be  holden  in  this  city  on  Wednesday,  the 
fifth  of  February ,  1868,  at  eleven  o'eloek,  in  the  forenoon,  and  succeeding  days,  for 
the  consideration  of  the  following  subjects  : 

"The  improvement  of  our  inland  and  interior  means  of  transportation. 

"The  adoption  of  an  uniform  system  for   he  measurement  of  grain. 

"The  adjustment  of  the  currency  question  in  a  manner  which  will  reconcile 
conflicting  sectional  views,  while  at  the  same  time  promoting  the  welfare  of  the 
whole  country. 

"  The  restoration  of  the  foreign  commerce  of  the  country  from  its  present  greatly 
depressed  condition. 

"  The  organization  of  a  National  Board  of  Trade,  or  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

"And  such  other  subjects,  not  of  a  local  or  political  character,  as  may  properly 
come  before  the  Convention." 

The  Convention  met  at  the  time  appointed.  The  invitation  had  been  cordially 
responded  to,  even  by  those  associations  who  could  not  accept  it,  and  the  attendance 
was  quite  as  full  as  could  have  been  anticipated,  considering  the  season  of  the  year. 
Fourteen  States  were  represented;  and  thirty-six  associations,  situated  in  thirty-two 
cities.  The  number  of  delegates  present  was  two  hundred  and  forty -five.  This 
volume  contains  a  full  record  of  the  proceedings,  reported  by  Mr.  J.M.W.YEKRixrox, 
a  skilful  Stenographer,  and  is  published  under  authority  of  the  Convention.  Upon 
the  manner  in  which  these  proceedings  were  carried  forward,  and  upon  the  general 
result  reached,  the  meinl>crs  have  good  reason  to  congratulate  themselves.  Of 
course,  it  would  have  been  impossible,  within  the  limits  of  a  four  day's  session,  to 
exhaustively  discuss  abstract  questions  of  political  economy,  or  to  critically  examine 
underlying  principles ;  nor  was  anything  of  the  kind  attempted.  It  was  sought 
rather  to  give,  in  simple  outline,  a  practical  and  suggestive  statement  of  the  present 
and  pressing  necessities  of  the  country  in  connection  with  the  currency,  taxation, 
internal  improvements  and  foreign  commerce.  It  was  believed  that  such  an  ex 
pression  of  opinion,  coining  from  a  representative  body  constituted  as  this  was, 
would  l»e  welcomed  by  business  men,  as  furnishing  a  commercial  platform  on  which 
they  could  stand  and  work  together ;  and  that  it  would  prove  useful  to  Congress,  as 
indicating  the  views  of  those  who  are  most  closely  identified  with  and  deeply  con 
cerned  in  the  industry  and  enterprise  of  the  nation. 

The  various  re-solutions  adopted,  have  l>een  printed  together  in  the  form  of  a 
Memorial,  and  sent  to  Washington,  in  behalf  of  the  Convention.  They  have 
received  additional  weight,  since  their  passage,  by  the  approval  given  to  them  by 
most  if  not  all  the  associations  to  whom  they  have  l>cen  reported  by  the  delegates ; 
and  they  have  received  very  general  commendation  from  the  press. 

The  following  estimate  of  the  Convention  and  its  work,  is  extracted  from  the 
rejiort  of  the  delegates  of  the  Philadelphia  Ikwrd  of  Trade  : 

"  We  may  here  be  permitted  to  say  a  word  of  the  jwsonnel  of  the  Convention  as 
it  impressed  us  during  the  sessions. 

"  It  consisted  of  men  of  acute  minds  who  had  come  profoundly  impressed  with 
the  magnitude  of  the  subjects  they  were  to  consider,  and  the  probable  influence  their 
discussions  would  have  in  shaping  public  opinion  and  leuMatioti. 

"  They  had  brought  with  them  deep  conviction  ot  \\hat  they  deemed  desirable  for 
their  *-\.-ial  section.,  ami  they  .Mended  these  cum  icii<>u>  \\ith  wisdom,  intelligence 
«iidrl«*|ucnc.-:  ami  it  U  ,|iiit.-  pmbablc  that  the  thoroughness  of  discussion  and  the 
«•, .,„,,.,)  ..d  conflicting  opinions  oil  many  points,  led  to  the 


INTRODUCTORY    NOTE,  vii 

adoption  of  reports  and  resolutions,  which,  as  nearly  as  was  possible,  brought  their 
deliberations  to  an  harmonious  and  safe  ground  on  "which  each  sacrificed  a  part  for 
the  good  of  the  great  whole. 

"  In  such  a  result  the  bodies  that  sent  them  will  have  great  satisfaction  ;  and  the 
voice  which  they  have  spoken,  will,  we  think,  be  accepted  to  so  large  an  extent  by 
the  people,  that  it  will  have  a  salutary  influence  in  tending  to  settle  some  of  the 
vexing  and  dangerous  tendencies  of  the  times  in  a  safe  and  honorable  way." 

The  tone  of  the  discussions  was  thoroughly  national.  The  essential  harmony  of 
all  the  great  branches  of  industry,  each  with  the  rest,  was  fully  recogni/,ed ;  and  the 
feeling  manifested  mutually,  on  the  part  of  the  representatives  of  the  various  sections 
of  the  country,  was  hearty  and  fraternal.  Those  present  from  some  of  the  Southern 
cities,  were  especially  welcomed ;  and  it  was  only  regretted  that  they  were  so  few  in 
number.  Letters  had  been  received  from  Richmond,  Wilmington,  (N.C.,)  Charles 
ton  and  New  Orleans,  expressing  entire  sympathy  with  the  objects  proposed, 
although  they  were  unable  to  send  delegates.  A  quotation  from  one  of  these  letters 
will  illustrate  the  spirit  of  them  all.  The  President  of  the  New  Orleans  Chamber 
of  Commerce,  wrote : 

"  I  am  instructed  by  the  Chamber  to  return  thanks  to  the  Board  of  Trade  for  its 
polite  invitation  to  us  to  send  delegates  to  represent  our  Chamber  in  the  Convention, 
and  to  state  that  whilst  fully  appreciating  the  importance  of  the  subjects  to  be  con 
sidered,  the  condition  of  our  commercial  community  at  present  is  such,  and  the 
leaving  home  at  the  time  mentioned  would  be  so  inconvenient  to  our  merchants, 
that  the  Chamber  will  most  reluctantly  be  compelled  to  forego  the  advantages  of 
being  represented  in  the  Convention." 

Had  these  gentlemen  witnessed  the  manifestation  of  kindness  and  good-will  with 
which,  on  the  third  day,  a  resolution  was  passed  in  reference  to  "the  destitution  and 
suffering  existing  in  the  Southern  States ;"  they  would  have  l>een  much  impressed. 
It  was  an  earnest  of  the  Union  which  is  to  be.  Such  meetings  are  calculated  to  do 
more  perhaps  than  anything  else  to  hasten  the  day,  of  which  one  of  our  New  Eng 
land  poets  has  sung,  when 


"  —  North  and  South,  toother  brought, 

Shall  own  the  came  electric  thought, 

In  peace  a  common  flag  salute, 

And,  side  by  side  in  labor's  free 

And  unreRentful  rivalry, 

Harvest  the  fields  wherein  they  fought." 

The  Convention  took  important  action  in  deciding  upon  the  formation  of  a 
National  Chamber  of  Commerce.  This  Chamber  promises  to  be  to  the  asso«-i:it.-d 
bodies,  very  much  what  these  are  to  their  individual  constituents ;  and  upon  the 
country  generally,  its  influence  may  l>e  made  most  valuable.  It  will  tend  to  correct 
hurtful  misapprehensions,  to  conciliate  opposing  sentiments,  to  modify  sectional 
preferences,  to  harmonize  and  adjust  conflicting  interests,  and  to  create  n  public 
sentiment  which  will  demand  well-considered,  well-balanced  and  truly  national 
legislation  on  all  industrial  questions.  Its  sessions  will  have  advantages  over  Con- 
ventions  such  as  those  of  Detroit  and  Boston,  in  that  they  will  be  held  at  rqgubr 
intervals,  and  will  probably  be  more  protracted,  the  rules  of  procedure  will  be  settled, 


Vill  lNTl;ol>r<  TORY    NOTE. 

and  the  business  to  be  taken  up  will  U-  definitely  notified  in  advance.  A  meeting 
will  IK-  ealled  shortly,  probably  in  Hiiladelphia,  to  organize  the  Chamber  and  to 
determine  its  plan  of  aetion. 

The  Boston  Board  of  Trade  avail*  itself  of  the  present  opportunity  to  express  its 
great  gratification  at  the  manner  in  which  its  efforts  in  behalf  of  the  recent  Conven 
tion  have  been  appreciated  by  the  associations  embraced  in  the  call,  from  many  of 
whom  it  has  received,  since  the  adi<>iinimem,  courteous  and  generous  acknowledg 
ments.  The  Board  l>egsalso  to  express  its  thanks  to  the  people  of  Boston,  who  so 
warmly  seconded  and  supported  its  plans ;  as  well  as  to  His  Honor  the  Mayor  and 
the  municipal  authorities,  and  to  His  Excellency  the  (Jovernor  and  the  honorable 
members  of  the  State  Legislature,  who  extended  welcome  and  hospitality  to  its 
guests.  They,  no  less  than  the  members  of  the  Board,  have  an  interest  in  the  kind 
words  respecting  our  City  and  our  Commonwealth,  which  the  occasion  has  called 
forth,  in  such  free  and  hearty  utterance,  from  their  fellow-citi/eus  of  the  East, 
.Hid  South. 


H.  A.  H. 


BOARD  OF  TRADE, 
BOSTON,  March  31,  1868. 


NATIONAL  COMMERCIAL  CONVENTION. 


FIRST    DAY. 

WEDNESDAY,   FEBRUARY  5,  1868. 


THE  Convention  met  in  the  large  hall  of  the  Bo;ml 
of  Trade  Building,  Chauncey  Street,  Boston,  on  Wed 
nesday,  the  fifth  of  February,  1868,  at  eleven  o'clock 
in  the  forenoon,  and  was  called  to  order  by  Mr. 
CHARLES  G.  NAZRO,  President  of  the  Boston  Board 
of  Trade,  who  invited  the  Kev.  EDWARD  N.  KIRK,  D.D., 
of  Boston,  to  open  the  proceedings  with  prayer. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  prayer,  Mr.  NAZRO  de 
livered  the  following 

ADDRESS  OF  WELCOME. 

GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTION:  — 

In  the  name  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade,  and  in  that  of  the 
merchants  and  business  men  of  this  city,  I  bid  you  a  sincere  and 
cordial  welcome.  And  I  beg  yon,  gentlemen,  not  to  take  UttM  a< 
mere  words  of  formal  courtesy,  but  as  the  honest  and  heartfelt  senti 
ments  of  the  people  of  New  England,  as  they  greet  their  brethren 
and  fellow-citizens  from  all  parts  of  the  land;  here  to  take  friendly 
counsel  together;  here  to  strengthen  the  ties  that  bind  us  each  to 
each,  and  all  in  one;  citizens  of  one  common  country:  owing 
allegiance  to,  and  protected  by,  one  common  flag;  and  determined, 
come  weal  or  woe,  to  stand  or  fall  together.  (Loud  applause.) 

We  have  met,  gentlemen,  for  mutual  consultation;  to  compare 
views  in  relation  to  the  various  plans  which  are  deviled  to  bring  us 
back  to  a  state  of  prosperity  ;  to  see  wherein  we  can  all  work  together 
to  restore  the  business  which  has  been  so  sadly  deranged  by  the 
late  terrible  rebellion;  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  meet  here  friend 


2  COMMERCIAL    <  DETENTION. 

from  so  many  different  places  who  so  lankly  represent  the  industrial 
and  hu-ine.-<  interests  of  the  country,  and  I  trust  that  our  deliberations 
will  not  be  in  vain. 

We  have,  of  course,  n<»  authority;  we  can  only  express  opinions; 
but  it  is  well  at  some  periods  for  the  representative  men  of  the  nation 
to  meet  together  and  interchange  views;  and  the  opinions  of  such  a 
body,  if  they  IK-  well  considered  and  the  result  of  calm  deliberation, 
cannot  fail  to  have  an  important  influence,  and  to  receive  the  respect 
to  which  they  are  entitled. 

Permit  me  to  say  here,  gentlemen,  that  Boston  is  not  alone  re 
sponsible  for  the  assembling  of  this  Convention.  Friends  in  other 
places  were  desirous  that  we  should  make  the  call,  and  we  most 
cheerfully  and  readily  did  so.  But  notwithstanding  we  are  so  glad 
to  call  our  friends  together,  and  earnestly  as  we  wish  to  enter  into  all 
the  discussions,  Boston  has  no  objects  to  attain  other  than  those  which 
are  common  to  all,  and  our  meeting  here  has  no  local  significance. 
Everything  that  benefits  one  section,  must  of  necessity,  in  a  general 
point  of  view,  benefit  the  whole.  We  should,  therefore,  as  far  as  pos 
sible,  put  away  all  sectional  feelings  and  endeavor  so  to  shape  our 
counsels  that  all  may  equally  share  in  the  good  we  hope  to  obtain. 

It  is  unnecessary  in  a  country  like  ours  to  have  any  feelings  of 
jealousy  between  different  parts.  There  is  room  enough  for  all  ; 
then-  is  work  enough  for  all;  and  if  instead  of  looking  with  unea-i- 
ne->  when  we  see  another  portion  of  our  community  moving  forward, 
we  -eek  to  cooperate  with  and  aid  them,  we  shall  at  the  same  time 
benefit  ourselves.  Noble  emulation  and  friendly  intercourse  between 
the  different  members  cf  our  great  family  will  in  the  end  not  only 
produce  material  gain  to  each  part,  but  will  serve  to  knit  closer  the 
bands  by  which  we  are  held  together  as  a  body  politic;  and  the 
glorious  motto  "  E  Pluribtis  Uitu-m"  shall  be  true  not  only  in  a 
governmental,  bat  in  a  social  and  commercial  acceptation;  and  we 
.-hall  -how  to  the  world  that  a  Christian  republic  can  not  only  live  as 
a  strong  and  powerful  nation,  but  that  it  can  teach  those  great  prin 
ciples  of  noble  emulation,  which,  while  it  causes  each  part  to  strive 
tor  a  high  position  in  all  that  rai-e-  a  people  in  moral  dignity,  yet 
inculcate-  only  that  competition  which  scorns  to  obtain  a  good  which 
shall  unjustly  work  an  evil  to  it-  neighbor. 

(Mir  forefather-  -ought  only  religion-  freedom.  No  dream  of 
founding  an  empire  entered  their  minds.  Could  they  have  had  a 
glimpse  of  the  future,  could  tliev  have  known  that  in  less  than  two 
hundred  and  fifty  year-  a  republic  would  spring  up  whose  territory 
>hould  n-ach  from  the  St.  Croix  to  the  Rio  Grande;  from  the 


MR.   NAZRO'S    ADDRESS.  3 

Atlantic,  across  that  vast  chain  of  mountains  to  the  Pacific;  :i 
country  so  powerful,  and  so  vast  in  its  operations,  that  when  by 
an  internal  dissension  its  wheels  of  business  were  partially  stopped 
the  whole  commercial  world  should  feel  a  shock  and  all  iis  a  Hairs  h- 
deranged;  quite  likely  they  would  have  sought  to  lay  a  ditlerent 
foundation;  and  yet,  could  they  have  thus  become  cognisant  of  tin- 
future,  no  better  or  more  enduring  one  could  have  been  devi-ed; 
first  recognizing  God  and  building  on  His  word,  and  secondly  e~tal>- 
lishing  colleges  and  seminaries  of  learning,  and  implanting  in  tin- 
minds  of  their  descendants  those  principles  of  stern  integrity  an<! 
unblemished  honor,  which  alone  can  form  the  basis  of  true  prosperity. 
(Applause.) 

New  England  has  played  no  small  part  in  the  history  of  this 
country,  and  we  think  she  has  had  some  hand  in  shaping  its  destiny  : 
but  we  look  with  pride  and  astonishment  at  the  rapid  strides  which 
have  been  made  in  other  parts  of  the  land. 

When  we  look  at  the  great  Northwest,  with  its  untold  wealth,  its 
rich  soil,  its  immense  crops,  its  mineral  treasures,  its  men  of  enter 
prise  and  indomitable  perseverance,  we  rejoice  that  it  is  a  part  of  our 
common  country,  and  that  these  are  our  fellow-citizens,  member-  of 
our  own  family.  And  so  with  the  great  Southwest,  abounding  in 
wealth,  and  although  checked  by  recent  events,  it  will,  we  trust,  soon 
emerge  into  the  bright  sunshine  of  prosperity.  (Applause.) 

Again,  as  we  turn  our  eyes  from  the  contemplation  of  these  pictures 
and  cast  them  upon  the  sunny  South,  we  wear  ua  countenance  more 
in  sorrow  than  in  anger."  We  remember  that  they  inherit* -d  from 
the  mother  country  a  curse  which  has  been  interwoven  in  all  their 
history.  The  ways  of  Providence  are  inscrutable,  but  always  right  ; 
and  when  man's  wisdom  fails,  then  an  unseen  hand  guide-  "tir  -tep- 
and  shapes  our  destiny.  The  whirlwind  and  the  storm  bring  forth 
the  clear  and  healthful  atmosphere,  and  God  rides  upon  that  whirl 
wind  and  directs  that  storm;  and  when  they  have  done  their  ap 
pointed  work,  He  says  to  the  raging  sea,  peace,  be  still,  and  He  i- 
obeyed.  May  we  not  hope  that  wise  counsels,  chastened  by  pa-t 
experience  and  guided  by  that  kind  Providence,  may  prevail  in  that 
fertile  part  of  our  land;  that  the  acts  of  the  General  Government 
maybe  guided  by  wisdom,  firmness  and  discretion;  tint  a  feeling 
of  forbearance  and  brotlierly  kindness  may  prevail  all  over  the  land  : 
and  that  the  loyal  people  in  the  South  shall  receive  a  warm-heart. -d 
welcome  as  they  resume,  which  I  trust  in  God  they  soon  will,  their 
places  in  the  councils  of  the  nation,  and  thus  the  terrible  tornado  that 
has  swept  over  them  result  in  their  ultimate  good,  and  the  wrath 


4  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

of  man   be  made  to  praise  the  Almighty  Ruler  of  the   universe? 
(Applause.) 

And  let  me  speak  with  pride  and  satisfaction  of  the  Middle  States. 
The  ancient  and  noble  Commonwealth  of  Pennsylvania,  which  has 
done  so  much  in  time  past  for  the  prosperity  of  the  whole  country,  and 
which  is  now  in  the  zenith  of  her  maturity;  New  York,  the  great 
Empire  State,  whose  far-sighted  statesmen  early  Inaugurated  the 
system  of  internal  improvements  and  thereby  laid  the  foundation  of 
her  present  great  prosperity  ;  can  any  American,  located  wherever 
he  may  be,  have  other  than  feelings  of  pride  and  admiration  as  he 
contemplates  these  parts  of  our  domain  ? 

The  great  City  of  New  York,  the  commercial  metropolis  of  this 
country,  and  by-and-by  to  be  the  commercial  and  financial  metropolis 
of  the  world,  —  her  prospective  greatness  looms  up  before  our  minds 
in  gigantic  proportions.  We  admire  her  enterprise,  and  we  feel 
justly  proud  of  her;  albeit  -he  is  at  times  a  little  facetious,  and 
patronizingly  pats  her  little  sister  on  the  head  and  calls  her  the 
"  little  village  of  Boston;" — (laughter) — that  we  can  forgive,  for  to 
us  it  appears  like  a  man  whistling  in  the  dark  to  keep  his  courage 
up.  But  while  we  love  her  and  cherish  these  feelings  of  pride 
toward  her,  we  want  all  to  understand  that  we  mean  to  keep  both 
eyes  open,  and  do  all  we  can  to  maintain  the  ancient  reputation  of 
our  own  beloved  city.  (Loud  applause.)  And  we  also  wish  it  to  be 
understood  that  we  intend  at  some  future  time  to  become  a  big  affair. 
We  are  annexing  all  the  adjacent  cities,  and  we  are  not  sure  but  that 
as  we  go  on  increa.-ing  the  circle,  the  City  of  New  York  may  liecome 
an  environ  of  Boston,  and  that  we  .-hall  finally  annex  her.  (Great 
merriment.) 

When  we  look  beyond  the  mountains  and  see  that  great  country 
which  so  short  a  time  since  had  only  a  few  semi-barbarous  people, 
owing  allegiance  to  a  foreign  nation,  but  now  forming  one  of  the  mo-t 
important  States  of  the  Union,  it  seems  as  though  from  its  very  dis 
tension  our  Government  must  be  broken  into  fragments,  were  it  not 
that  we  see  on  the  other  hand  the  great  network  of  railroads  and 
telegraphs  binding  and  cementing  together  the  various  parts,  and  1-y 
annihilating,  as  it  were,  both  time  and  space,  rendering  that  po.-.-ible 
which  ha>  hitherto  seemed  impo--ihle,  and  thu<.  lio\\e\  er  apparently 
di-> evered  the  various  parts,  making  one  harmonious  whole.  And 
thi>  leads  me  to  speak  of  tho-e  great  thoroughfares,  those  continental 
highways  which  are  to  connect  us  with  tho.-e  distant  parts  of  our 
land,  and  so  materially  .-liorten  the  distance  to  the  great  countries  of 
the  Ka-t.  Should  we  not  strive  to  have  all  these  roads  completed  at 


MR.   NAZRO'S    ADDRESS.  '  5 

the  earliest  possible  moment,  that  we  may  have  free  communication 
with  our  Pacific  possessions? 

Gentlemen,  it  is  not  for  me  at  this  time  to  set  before  you  at  any 
length  the  various  topics  which  will  engage  your  attention.  Tliev 
embrace  subjects  connected  with  the  prosperity  of  the  whole  rountrv. 
Some  of  the  most  important  are : 

The  means  of  transporting  the  products  of  the  land  from  the  point 
of  production  to  the  point  of  consumption  or  exportation.  This  i-.  a 
question  which  affects  us  all  vitally;  the  West  and  the  South  M 
producers,  and  the  Middle  and  New  England  States  as  the  consumers 
or  the  medium  through  which  these  products  find  their  way  to  foreign 
markets.  Much  attention  has  been  given  to  this  subject,  and  great 
improvements  have  already  been  made,  and  if  there  were  no  other 
matter  to  be  brought  before  the  Convention,  this  alone  would  seem  to 
be  worthy  of  its  assembling. 

Vitally  connected  with  this,  is  the  great  shipping  interest,  now  BO 
prostrated,  and  which  it  is  for  the  interest  of  all  should  regain  its 
wonted  vigor.  By  what  means  this  end  can  be  attained,  de>er\«--. 
and  doubtless  will  receive  the  very  serious  attention  of  the  Conven 
tion.  Interwoven  with  this,  are  the  great  questions  of  steam  na\i- 
gation,  the  tariff  on  imports,  and  many  other  incidental  subject-,  such 
as  the  reciprocal  trade  with  Canada  and  other  foreign  places  on  thi> 
continent. 

The  third  great  question  is  that  of  the  finances  of  the  country, 
which  have  assumed  such  gigantic  proportions  and  the  management 
of  which  in  such  a  manner  as  to  do  justice  to  all,  i>  a  very  difficult 
problem  to  solve.  There  is  evidently  a  disposition  in  some  quarters 
not  to  carry  out,  what  fairly  construed  would  be  the  plighted  faith  of 
the  Government;  and  should  the  Convention,  after  careful  delibera 
tion,  form  and  express  an  opinion  upon  the  subject,  it  would  doubt le-- 
have  much  weight. 

Another  great  problem  is  that  which  relates  to  taxation.  The 
amount  to  be  raised  is  so  large,  and  it  bears  so  heavily  upon  some 
interests,  and  it  is  so  important  that  it  should  operate  equally  and 
fairly  upon  all,  that  doubtless  those  with  whom  it  lies  to  regulate  tin- 
matter  would  be  glad  to  have  the  views  of  such  an  intelligent  IH  dy 
of  the  business  men  from  all  parts  of  the  land  as  are  here  aoembled. 

The  measurement  of  grain  is  another  subject  which  will  probably 
receive  your  attention,  whether  we  shall  continue  the  present  plan,  or 
adopt  some  uniform  system. 

The  organization  of  a  National  Board  of  Trade  or  Chamber  of 
Commerce"  commands  the  attention  of  all.  This  subject  baa  i 


6  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

-eriotislv  considered  by  many  of  tbe  local  Board-,  and  cannot  fail  to 
attract  the  notice  of  this  Convention;  and  it  can  receive  more  full 
and  careful  examination  by  so  large  a  representation  of  various 
lioanls.  than  it  could  do  by  correspondence* 

These,  and  such  other  topics  as  your  wisdom  and  experience  shall 
surest,  will  doubtless  occupy  the  attention  of  the  Convention,  and  if 
there  be  agreement  of  opinion  and  unity  of  action  in  all  essential 
particulars,  I  have  full  confidence  that  all  the  members  of  the  Con 
vention  will  feel  that  they  have  accomplished  much  good  by  their 
presence  here. 

In  thus  briefly  sketching  the  features  of  our  country  and  its  insti 
tutions,  and  touching  upon  some  of  the  topics  which  will  engage  your 
attention,  is  it  not  a  pertinent  question  to  ask  of  such  a  Convention 
a-  this,  composed  of  men  of  so  much  intelligence,  can  we  afford  to 
trifle  with  these  great  advantages  which  Providence  has  placed  in  our 
hands,  and  for  the  right  use  of  which  we  shall  be  held  responsible  ? 
Ought  we  to  allow  any  sectional  feeling,  or  rivalry,  or  jealousy,  to 
weaken  us  ?  Should  not  the  West  and  the  East,  the  Centre  and  the 
South,  all  unite  to  seek  the  benefit  and  best  good  of  all  ?  Should 
there  not  be  one  united  voice  going  up  to  Congress  from  the  great 
body  of  the  whole  people,  asking  it  to  enact  and  construe  all  laws  in  a 
manner  that  can  have  no  doubtful  subterfuges,  but  will  proclaim  to  the 
world  :  "This  is  a  nation  which  acts  in  good  faith,  and  on  those  high 
principles  of  honor  and  rectitude  which  will  bear  the  test  of  time  and 
the  -cnitiny  of  the  world,  and  the  people  will  sustain  us  in  so  doing." 
(Applause.)  Let  such  a  voice  go  from  this  Convention,  and  it  will 
find  a  response  all  over  the  land;  for,  no  matter  what  set  of  politi 
cians  may  rule  the  hour,  no  matter  what  particular  line  of  policy  may 
be  adopted,  the  people  are  honest  and  intelligent,  and  on  all  great 
questions  decide  substantially  for  the  right.  The  people  can  be 
trusted.  Get  them  together  —  let  them  meet  face  to  face  —  let  them 
understand  each  other,  and  the  result  cannot  be  doubtful.  It  is  this, 
more  than  almo-t  anything  else,  that  causes  me  to  rejoice  in  this  con 
vocation.  It  is  this  faith  in  the  intelligent,  educated  American  people, 
that  give-  me  conlidcnce  that  God  has  high  purposes  for  our  land. 
AYhere  on  the  face  of  the  globe  can  you  find  a  nation  or  a  people, 
who,  from  a  state  of  entire  peace,  with  no  belligerent  thoughts,  cadi 
pur-iiing  his  quiet  avocation,  could,  when  the  tocsin  sounded,  spring 
at  once  to  arm- :  become  one  va-t  army;  impro\  i>e  ihe  mo>t  power 
ful  navy  in  the  world;  tight  a  hundred  battles:  de-troy  half  a 
million  li\e-  ;  -pend  three  tlioii-and  millions  of  dollars  :  .-landing  firm 
;i-  adamant,  ready  to  meet  the  world  -honld  it  come  against  u>  even 


MR.    NAZRO'S    ADDRESS.  7 

at  our  weakest  moment;  and  yet,  after  the  exigency  is  pa  —  -.1.  lay 
down  their  arms,  return  to  their  homes,  resume  their  occupations,  and 
set  themselves  to  work  honestly  to  pay  off  the  great  debt?  (Ap 
plause.) 

This,  fellow-citizens  of  the  United  States,  is  the  American  pe«.pl.-. 
These  are  the  fruits  of  the  teachings  of  the  Pilgrims  ;  these  an-  tin- 
results  of  the  baptism  of  blood  on  Plymouth  Rock;  tin -••  an-  the 
effects  of  an  open  Bible  ;  these  are  the  fruits  of  diffused  education 
among  the  masses.  May  God  in  His  infinite  mercy  ever  keep  us 
true  to  himself,  true  to  ourselves,  and  true  to  our  posterity  ;  mav  \\e 
hand  down  to  our  children,  and  they  to  theirs,  the  rich  inheritance  \\c 
have  received  from  our  fathers;  and  when  in  the  lapse  of  time  our 
thirty-seven  stars  shall  have  increased  to  a  hundred,  and  our  forty 
millions  of  people  to  five  hundred  millions,  may  the  same  glorious 
motto  be  raised  on  high,  written  in  letters  of  living  light,  and  "  E  Phi- 
ribus  Unum  "  be  as  true  of  us  then  as  it  is  at  the  present  moment,  and 
we  continue  a  nation  that  honors  God,  and  therefore  one  whom  God 
delights  to  honor  ;  and  the  period  never  arrive  when  the  stars  and 
the  stripes  shall  blush  in  the  presence  of  the  Banner  of  the  Cross, 
but  side  by  side,  folded  and  entwined  together,  may  they  >heltrr  and 
protect  our  people  to  the  latest  period  of  time  ;  and  may  the  frequent 
interchanges  of  opinion  and  friendly  greetings  among  the  citi/.en-  of 
different  parts  of  our  land  thus  keep  us  an  united,  homogeneous  and 
happy  people. 

I  again  extend  to  you,  gentlemen,  a  most  cordial  greeting;  and  I  tru>t 
that  your  sojourn  among  us  may  be  of  such  a  nature  that,  although 
we  may  have  met  as  strangers,  we  shall  part  a>  friend-,  and  that  eaeh 
and  all  of  us  shall  look  back  to  this  oeca-ion  ;i>  an  era  \\hen  all  the 
great  interests  of  the  country  received  a  new  impulse,  the  lies  of  fra 
ternal  love  and  kindly  feeling  were  strengthened,  and  our  l<>ve  for 
our  common  country  was  made  deeper  and  stronger  by  our  friendly 
intercourse  with  each  other.  (Prolonged  Appluu.--.' 

The  first  business  in  order  will  be  the  temporary  organization  of 
the  Convention,  by  the  choice  of  a  Pn->id.-nt  and  Secretary  pro  tern. 
With  your  permission,  I  will  nominate  for  the  office  of  temporary 
President  the  Hon.  FRKDERICK  FKALEY,  of  Philadelphia,  and  for 
temporary  Secretary,  Mr.  HAMILTON  A.  HILL,  of  Boston. 

These  nominations  were  unanimously  ratified,  and 
the  Hon.  OTIS  NORCROSS  and  Mr.  ERASTUS  B.  BIGE- 
LOW,  of  Boston,  were  appointed  a  Committee  to  wail 
upon  Mr.  FRALEY  and  conduct  him  to  the  chair. 


8  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

This  Committee  having  discharged  this  duty,  the 
President  pro  tern,  addressed  the  Convention  as  fol 
lows  : 

ADDRESS   OF   MR.  FRALEY. 

I  am  profoundly  sensible,  gentlemen,  of  the  honor  which  you  have 
conferred  upon  Pennsylvania,  and  of  the  still  greater  honor  that  you 
have  conferred  upon  me,  by  electing  me  to  this  temporary  presidency. 
After  the  searching  and  touching  prayer  to  which  we  have  just  lis- 
ti'iu.'d.  after  the  eloquent  address  we  have  just  heard,  what  is  there 
that  remains  lor  me  to  say  ?  The  whole  ground  of  your  assembling 
ha-  been  covered,  all  the  objects  that  you  are  to  cou>ider  have  been 
pre.-entrd,  and  if  I  were  to  comply  with  my  own  feelings,  I  would 
bow  mv  acknowledgments  merely  for  the  honor  you  have  conferred, 
and  take  my  seat.  But  when  I  reflect  upon  what  has  brought  us 
together,  the  great  interests  that  we  are  about  to  consider,  the  neces 
sity  that  there  will  be  for  a  careful  comparison  of  views  and  weighing 
of  opinion-,  I  may  be  permitted,  perhaps,  to  say  a  word  or  two  upon 
some  of  those  topics  which  are  to  be  considered  here. 

First,  of  our  great  lines  of  internal  communication  —  the  railways 
and  ilie  canals  of  the  Union;  those  iron  and  water  links  binding  us 
now  together  as  a  Union,  destined  to  bind  us  still  more  closely 
together  and  to  magnify  us  among  the  people  of  the  earth  as  the 
givate.-t  and  the  most  powerful  nation  upon  which  the  sun  shines,  and 
upon  which  Goil  he>tows  His  blessings.  The  more  closely  we  consider 
those  lines  of  internal  communication,  the  more  shall  we  be  disposed 
to  put  forward  all  the  strength  of  our  influence,  and  all  the  might  of 
our  authority  to  make  them  complete  and  to  diffuse  them  over  the 
whole  land. 

Again,  on  the  great  subject  of  the  currency,  which  we  are  to  con- 
Miler,  what  conflicting  opinions  prevail  among  us  upon  that  vital  and 
important  topic,  lying  as  it  does  at  the  foundation,  almost,  of  the  social 
.structure  of  MK-iety,  ent'.ring  into  every  man's  business,  entering  into 
every  household  in  one  ,-hape  or  another,  and  commanding  the  atten 
tion  and  the  scrutiny  of  tho.-e  who  have  devoted  their  miiuU  to  the 
>tudy  of  such  problems,  and  who  look  to  us  to  present  tho.-i-  vicw< 
iu  order  that  they  may  he  carefully  compared,  and  that  out  of  our  de 
liberations  upon  this  -ubject  there  may  go  up  to  Wa.-hingtou  a  voice 
that  will  be  respected  —  that  will  put  this  question  upon  foundations 
that  >hall  not  be  >haken,  which  will,  in  the  edifice  which  shall  be 


MR.    FRALEY'S    ADDIIKSS.  '.I 

reared  on  these  foundations,  restore  us  to  the  condition  we  enjoyed 
before  the  rebellion  broke  out,  and  which  will  so  place  "the 
currency  of  this  country  in  the  future  before  the  world  that  it  shall 
be  considered  not  only  the  best  and  mo-t  reliable  cnrrencv.  hut  the 
one  which  will  be  most  beneficial  to  the  wide  and  extruded  populati.i  , 
that  will  use  it. 

In  regard  to  the  question  of  taxation,  we  have  a  broad  field  1, 
us.  We  have  in  connection  with  that  subject  to  consider  the  great 
manufacturing,  industrial,  and  agricultural  interests  of  the  countrv  ; 
to  balance  the  claims  of  each  ;  to  consider  how  they  hear  upon  each 
other,  and  to  bring  about  such  a  harmony  of  these  interests  as  thai 
each  shall  receive  its  due  reward,  and  that  the  agriculture,  the  com 
merce,  and  the  manufactures  of  this  country  shall  go  forward,  hand 
in  hand,  prospering  and  to  prosper. 

In  regard  to  the  organization  of  a  National  Hoard  of  Trade,  this 
assemblage  shows,  I  think,  the  advantages  that  will  be  derived  from 
such  an  institution,  bringing  together,  as  it  will,  from  all  parts  of  our 
country  intelligent  minds  operating  in  dilferent  lines  of  business,  fol 
lowing  different  modes  of  thought,  representing  different  sectional 
interests  and  all  shades  of  opinion.  Through  such  an  organization 
the  influence  of  the  business  men  of  the  country  will  be  potently 
felt  throughout  the  land  for  the  good  of  the  whole  people. 

Coining  as  I  do  from  Pennsylvania,  having  had  considerable  expe 
rience  in  matters  of  business,  having  been  tolerably  familiar  with  the 
history  of  this  country  during  the  present  century,  and  having  seen 
the  vast  stride*  that  our  country  has  made  in  art-,  in  manufactures,  in 
science,  in  intellectual  cultivation,  when  I  contemplate  what  has  come 
out  of  the  seed  that  has  thus  been  -own,  and  look  forward  to 
the  future,  I  realize  to  the  fullest  extent  these  lili-><ini:-  \vhi-  h  have 
been  so  ably  sketched  l>y  the  President  of  the  Boston  Hoard  of  Trade 
who  opened  these  proceedings,  in  the  admirable  sp.-rch  he  ha> 
just  delivered.  When  I  look  at  the  influence  that  the  eonMrnetion  of 
the  great  canals  of  New  York  had'upon  opening  the  great  We-t  and 
making  New  York  the  great  outlet  of  the  internal  commerce  of  the 
country;  when  I  look  at  the  rapidity  with  which  Pennsylvania  fol 
lowed  in  those  steps  and  organized  her  lines  of  internal  impro\  emenl  ; 
when  I  consider  that  the  examples  thus  sel  by  New  York  and  Penn 
sylvania  have  been  followed  so  la.-ely  by  the  Western  State.  :  and 
when  I  realize,  gentlemen,  the  benefits  that  have  llowed  from  tl.U  en- 
laro-ed  system  of  internal  improvement,  I  have  thought  that  every 
dollar,  nay  every  million  of  dollars  that  may  be  expended  in  construct- 
ing  such  great  highways  of  trade,  is  like  the  seed  sown  in  the  prolific 

a 


Id  COMMKl;<  l\l.    CONVENTION. 

.-.nil  of  tin-  We>t,  that  brings  forth  an  hundred  fold.  (Appla' 
Ami  when  I  recollect,  gentlemen,  the  condition  the  manufactures  of 
this  countrv  were  in  at  the  breaking  out  of  the  war  of  1812,  how  un 
fitted  we  were  at  that  time  to  enter  upon  the  >trnggle  with  the  pow 
erful  empire  of  Great  Britain,  and  recall  the  effect  that  war  had  upon 
developing  the  industry  of  this  country  and  shadowing  forth  its 
resources;  \\hen  I  consider  the  foundations  that  were  then  laid  for 
our  manufacturing  industry,  which  were  built  upon  at  the  close 
of  that  war  hv  the  protective  tariff,  which  set  in  motion  the  energies 
of  New  England  in  the  first  instance,  and  afterwards  set  in  motion 
the  energies  of  all  the  other  States  ;  when  I  consider  the  influence 
that  that  system  had  in  preparing  us  for  the  still  greater  straggle  that 
we  have  just  passed  through,  and  see  to  what  an  extent  the  manu 
facturing  industry  of  this  country  enabled  us  to  breast  the  great 
rebellion  and  to  overcome  it;  and  find  that  we  had  the  ability  not  only 
to  make  blankets  for  our  soldiers,  but  clothing  for  them  also  ;  to  create 
all  the  artillery  of  Avar  ;  to  construct  the  most  magnificent  steam 
navy  that  ever  floated  upon  the  waters  of  the  ocean  :  when  I  look,  I 
say,  upon  the  field  that  has  thus  been  cultivated  from  18 1'2  to  1868, 
I  confess  that  I  glory  in  my  country,  and  that  1  anticipate  for  her 
quite  as  noble  a  future  as  has  been  so  eloquently  portrayed  to  us  in 
the  address  to  which  we  have  ju>t  listened.  (Applause.) 

Now,  gentlemen,  it  is  for  you  to  consider  these  great  questions  ;  to 
consider  them  in  that  spirit  of  forbearance,  and  harmony,  and  defer 
ence  to  preconceived  opinions,  that  these  great  questions  demand  ;  to 
bring  out  of  what  may  seem  in  some  of  them  antagonistic  elements, 
the  simplicity,  and  perfectness,  and  unity  of  truth  ;  for  truth  upon  all 
iln->e  questions  permit  me  to  say,  is  an  unit,  and  what  is  the  inn-rest 
of  the  agriculture  of  this  country  is  equally  the  interest  of  the  manu 
facture-  of  this  countrv  :  what  is  the  interest  of  the  manufactures  of 
this  country  is  the  interest  of  the  commerce  of  the  country.  These 
are  blended  -o  intimately  together  that  one  cannot  suffer  without 
compelling  the  others  to  suffer,  and  we  might  as  well  expect  the 
body  to  move  in  soundness  (,f  health  and  perfeetne>s  of  organization 
deprived  of  it-  limb,-,  lea\  ing  it  merely  a  heart,  as  to  Mippo.-e  that  our 
country  can  move  on  without  the.  complete  harmony  of  all  the-e 
great  interest-.  (Applaii-e.) 

IVi-mit  me  to  >:iy,  that  we  of  Pennsylvania  ha\  e  endeavored  by 
diversifying  the  employment,  ,,f  our  people  to  .-hadow  forth  an  ex 
ample  of  this  unity  of  interests  Of  which  1  speak.  Our  commercial 
centre,  subordinate,  it  is  true,  to  the  commercial  power  of  the  great 
City  of  New  York,  cultixates  foreign  and  domestic  commerce;  the 


MR.    FKALEY'S    A  1>J) IJ  ESS.  1  1 

transportation  of  the  products  of  the  interior  to  tin-  M-aboard  and  the 
exportation  of  such  of  those  products  as  we  have  to  -pare  and  cannot 
consume  at  home,  to  foreign  countries;  giving  empl<>\ -meiit  to  a  much 
smaller  number  of  ships,  it  is  true,  than  sail  from  the  port  of  New 
York,  but  balancing  their  excess  against  other  interests  of  the  Com* 
monwealth,  so  that  those  who  participate  in  trade  and  conum-n-e  -hall 
reap  their  proportion  of  the  golden  rewards  which  commerce  brin-.:-. 
So  of  our  manufactures.  We  give  them  all  the  protection  and  en 
couragement  that  we  can.  We  invite  the  largest  possible  investment- 
of  capital  in  those  branches  of  business.  We  hold  out,  by  liberal 
legislation,  to  those  residing  outside  of  the  territory  of  the  Common 
wealth,  the  opportunity  to  come  in  by  a  free  law  for  the  incorporation 
of  manufacturing,  mining,  and  trading  companies,  giving  them 
abundant  opportunities  to  plant  themselves  on  our  soil,  and  to  a\ail 
themselves  of  our  resources ;  and  we  have  seen,  in  the  growth 
of  our  great  Commonwealth,  and  the  rapid  advances  she  is  making  in 
wealth  and  population,  that  we  realize  the  true  idea  in  this  harmony 
of  interests  of  which  I  speak.  Our  fields  glow  with  abundant  har 
vests  ;  our  farmers  reap  a  rich  reward  for  their  labors,  mainly  by  the 
proximity  of  manufacturing  establishments  to  their  farms.  They  are 
not  obliged  to  transport  their  products,  even  over  our  liberally 
conducted  system  of  railroads,  for  extraordinary  distances,  in  order  to 
reach  a  market  and  to  get  a  return  for  their  labor.  And  what 
we  of  Pennsylvania  have  found  so  beneficial  to  us  we  wi-h  to  put 
forward  as  an  example  for  our  sister  States,  so  that  they  may  partici 
pate  in  and  enjoy  the  advantages  which  we  do  ;  and  which  to  a  great 
extent  I  acknowledge  we  have  copied  from  the  thriftiness  and  exam 
ple  of  New  England.  (Applause.) 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  again  present  to  you  my  thanks  {'or  the  honor 
you  have  conferred  upon  me;  and  when  1  look  upon  this  Con 
vention  and  see  the  faces  that  are  turned  toward  me  beaming  with 
intelligence,  and  remember  the  varied  interests  they  represent,  and  the 
various  sections  from  which  they  come,  I  am  sure,  gentlemen,  that 
the  deliberations  of  such  a  body  upon  all  those  topics  which  are  pre 
sented  for  our  consideration  in  the  circular  of  the  Boston  Hoard  of 
Trade,  with  such  others  as  the  wisdom  of  this  Convention  may 
suggest,  will  be  honestly,  honorably,  and  fairly  treated;  so  that  when 
we  separate,  coming  here  together  as  strangers,  as  has  been  -aid  by 
the  President  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade,  we  shall  continue  to  the 
end  of  our  respective  lives,  fast  and  firm  fVi.-n.ls  (applause.)  l.onnd 
together  by  the  ties  of  a  national  brotherhood,  by  the  sympathy  of  a 
common  interest,  and  by  the  hope  (as  has  been  asked  for  at  by  the 


\'2  (  o.MMKKTlAL    <  o.NYKNTlOX. 

-ervant  of  (lod  in  his  prayer)  of  a  reunion  in  that  higher  and  endur- 
ing  countrv,  where  we  -hall  receive  the  reward  of  labors  well  done 
here  upon  earth.  (Loud  appian>e.) 

Mr.  WALBBTDGE,  of  New  York:  I  move  the  appointment  of 
a  Committee,  consisting  of  one  member  from  each  l>oard  of  Trade 
ami  Chamber  of  Commerce  represented  in  the  Convention,  to  nomi 
nate  permanent  ollicers,  to  prepare  rules  of  order  for  the  government 
of  the  Convention,  and  to  report  a  ratio  of  voting. 

Mr.  McCHESKEY,  of  Chicago  :  I  move  a  division  of  the 
question,  and  the  appointment  of  an  independent  Committee  to 
prepare  rules  of  order. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  accepted  the  amendment;  and  the 

first  part  of  the  motion  was  carried. 

Mr.  WKTHKIIKLL,  of  Philadelphia  :  It  seems  to  me  hardly 
necessary  to  appoint  a  separate  Committee  for  the  purpose  of  prepar 
ing  rules  and  determining  the  ratio  of  voting,  for  I  presume  that  the 
rules  and  the  ratio  of  voting  will  be  the  same  a<  were  adopted  at  the 
Detroit  Convention,  and  which  are  fully  understood.  Time  is  a 
matter  of  importance  to  us,  and  as  the  appointment  of  another  Com 
mittee  will  take  time,  I  hope  the  motion  will  not  prevail. 

The  PRESIDENT:  Do  you  make  a  motion  to  amend  in  that 
way  !' 

Mr.  AVin  IIKRELL  :  I  do,  Sir. 

Mr.  BRYSOX.  of  St.  Louis  :  I  cannot  see  the  propriety  of 
referring  this  subject  to  the  Committee  just  agreed  upon.  If  the 
object  is  to  save  time,  certainly  two  Committees  will  do  a  certain 
amount  of  work  in  less  time  than  one  Committee  can  do  it.  AYe 
can  do  no  business  until  the  Committee  on  Permanent  Organization 
have  reported,  and  while  they  are  preparin.ir  their  report,  this  other 
Committee  can  decide  upon  the  rules  of  order  and  the  basis  of  voting 
which  they  will  recommend  lor  our  adoption. 

The  question  was  put,  and  the  amendment  was 
lost 

The  motion  for  the  appointment  of  a  separate  Com 
mittee  on  Rules  of  Order  and  ]5asis  of  Voting  was 
then  adopted. 

Mr.  Mr.N.V.  of  Chicago:  I  move  that  in  the  Committee  on 
the  nomination  of  otlicers,  members  be  empowered  to  ca-t  the  voles 
to  whi.-h  their  respective  deleft  ion-  are  entitled. 


COMMITTEE    OX    oi;<; \ M/ATJON.  l.J 

The  PRESIDENT:  That  would  seem  to  conflict  with  the  rote 

already  passed,  the  Convention  not  having  lixc.l  any  x-alr  of  repre 
sentation. 

Mr.  MUNN  :  The  motion  was  made  nu-n-Iv  aa  a  guide  !i»r  ih.- 
action  of  the  Committee,  not  as  a  permanent  rule  in  th«-  a.-ti.m  of 
the  Convention.  It  is  but  right  that  the  various  hodi.-s  a-rmMing 
here  to-day  should  be  fairly  represented,  even  in  the  incipient  itagea 
of  the  proceedings,  and  it  is  for  this  reason  that  I  mad.-  the  mot  ion. 
However,  if  the  Chair  decides  that  it  conflicts  with  any  previous  vote, 
or  that  it  is  out  of  order,  I  will  not  press  it. 

Mr.  WETHERELL  :  I  would  suggest  that  the  Committee  on 
Rules  make  their  report  before  the  Committee  on  Organization  ;  and 
then.the  Convention  will  be  bound  by  it.  That  is  the  reason  why  I 
wanted  the  whole  matter  to  go  to  one  Committee. 

A  Delegate  from  Cleveland  :  What  number  does  the  gen 
tleman  from  Chicago  propose  the  members  of  the  Committee  should 
vote  for  —  for  the  number  of  delegates  present,  or  for  the  number  of 
members  in  the  bodies  they  respectively  represent  ? 

Mr.  MlJNN :  My  motion  contemplated  their  casting  a<  many 
votes  as  they  are  entitled  to  in  this  body. 

The  PRESIDENT:  The  Chair  decides,  that  as  the  ratio  of 
voting  has  not  yet  been  settled  by  the  Convention,  that  pn>p<»-itinn 
is  out  of  order. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  WALBRIDGE,  a  recess  of  ten 
minutes  was  taken  to  enable  the  several  delegations 
to  nominate  the  members  of  the  Committees  ordered. 

Upon  the  reassembling  of  the  Convention,  the  two 
Committees  were  announced  as  follows : 

COMMITTEE    ON    PERMANENT   ORGANIZATION. 

Hiram  Walbridge,  Chamber  of  Commerce,  New  York. 

Frank  Chamberlain,  Board  of  Trade,  Albany. 

N.  G.  Hichborn,  Maine  Shipbuilders'  Asso'n,  Augusta. 

William  D.  Sewall,  Board  of  Trade,  Bath. 

Charles  G.  Nazro,  Board  of  Trade,  li..>t<>n. 

Avery  Plumer,  Corn  Exchange,  Boston. 

P.  S.  Marsh,  Board  of  Trade,  Buffalo. 

T.  W.  Barhydt,  Board  of  Trade,  Uui-lin-ton. 

Murray  Nelson,  Board  of  Trad.-,  Chica-... 


14 


COM.MKKMAL    <  <  >.N  V  KNT1OX. 


s.  Lester  Taylor, 
.!.  II.  Clark, 

K.  i;.  Ward. 

H.  Lowry, 
A.  P.  Cook, 
W.  W.  Alcott, 
J.  J.  Porter. 
John  Bradford, 
E.  S.  Brown, 
James  Y.  Leigh, 
D.  W.  C.  Brown, 
J.  W.  Pitkin, 
Samuel  V.  Merrick, 
C.  J.  Hoffman, 
James  I.  Bennett, 
Woodbury  S.  Dana, 
C.  A.  Ropes, 
W.  J.  Dill, 
Moses  Ellis, 
George  Corav. 
Nahum  II.  Andrews, 
J.  II.  Britton, 
A.  W.  Fagin, 
Joseph  A.  Wheelock, 
M.  D.  Carrington, 
Thomas  A.  Tillinghass, 
Edward  Belts, 


Chamber  of  Commerce,  Cincinnati. 

Board  of  Trade,  Cleveland. 

Board  of  Trade,  Detroit. 

Produce  Exchange,  Dubuque. 

Board  of  Trade,  Jackson. 

Board  of  Trade,  Kalamazoo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Louisville. 
Chamber  of  Commerce,          Milwaukie. 

Produce  Exchange,  New  York. 

Board  of  Trade,  Norfolk. 

Board  of  Trade,  Ogdensburgh. 

Board  of  Trade,  Oswego. 

Board  of  Trade,  "  Philadelphia. 

Commercial  Exchange,  Philadelphia. 

Board  of  Trade,  Pittsburgh. 

Board  of  Trade,  Portland. 

Board  of  Trade,  Salem. 

Board  of  Trade,  Sandusk y. 

Board  of  Trade,  San  Francisco. 

Board  of  Trade,  Scranton. 

Board  of  Trade,  Springfield,  O. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Louis. 
Union  Merchants'  Exchange,  St.  Louis. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Paul. 

Board  of  Trade,  Toledo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Troy. 

Board  of  Trade,  TVilmington. 


COMMITTEE    ON    RULES. 


John  C.  Dore, 
William  S.  Preston, 
B.  C.  Bailey, 
Joseph  S.  Hopes, 
Samuel  G.  Bowdlcar, 
E.  S.  Prosser, 
T.  W.  Ilarl.ydt, 
Robert  Hi. ^.a. 
U.  T.  Lyon, 
liosea  W.  Field, 

II.  Lou  ry. 
A.  P.  Cook, 


Board  of  Trade,  Chicago. 

Board  of  Trade,  Albany. 

Board  of  Trade,  Bath. 

Board  of  Trad» •,  Boston. 

Corn  10  \ciiaiige,  Boston. 

Board  of  Trade,  Buffalo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Burlington. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  Cincinnati. 

Board  of  Trade,  Cleveland. 

Hoard  of  Trade,  I  )etroit. 

Produce  Exchange,  Dubiu|iic. 

Hoard  of  Trade,  . lack-on. 


THE    BASIS    OF    VOTING    IN    COMMITTEE.  1  •", 


W.  W.  Alcott, 
John  Tait, 
W.  P.  McLareu, 
L.  J.  N.  Stark, 
Edward  Hincken, 
James  Y.  Leigh, 
W.  L.  Proctor, 
F.  B.  Lathrop, 
J.  P.  Wetherill, 
George  L.  Buzby, 
George  H.  Thurston, 
Samuel  J.  Anderson, 
Washington  Ryan, 
John  C.  Osgood, 
Rush  R.  Sloane, 
Alfred  DeWitt, 
George  Coray, 
Nahum  H.  Andrews, 
M.  A.  Bryson, 
George  Pegrarn, 
Russell  Blakely, 
C.  A.  King, 
James  Forsyth, 
George  G.  Lobdell, 


Board  of  Trad*-,  Kalamazoo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Louisvill,-. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  MilwanU-. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  N»-w  York. 

Produce  Exchange,  New  York. 

Board  of  Trade,  Norfolk. 

Board  of  Trade,  Ogilm-bur-h. 

Board  of  Trade,  Oswego. 

Board  of  Trade,  Philadelphia. 

Commercial  Exchange,  Philadelphia. 

Board  of  Trade,  Piti.-bur^li. 

Board  of  Trade,  Portland. 
Maine  Shipbuilders'  Asso'n,  Portland. 

Board  of  Trade,  Salem. 

Board  of  Trade,  Sanduskv. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  San  Franri-.-o. 

Board  of  Trade,  Scranton. 

Board  of  Trade,  Springfield,  O. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Louis. 
Union  Merchants'  Pwxchange,  St.  Louis. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Paul. 

Board  of  Trade,  Toledo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Troy. 

Board  of  Trade,  AVihnington. 


Mr.  HOFFMAN,  Of  Philadelphia  :   I  move  that  the  member- 
of  the  Committee  on  Organization  have  power  to  cast  tin-  roti 
the  number  by  which  their  respective  bodies  are  represented  here. 
Otherwise  the  smaller  bodies  might  make  the  organization,  while  tin- 
larger  bodies  would  have  only  one  vote. 

The  PRESIDENT:   I  think  that,   in   the   absence  of  any  fixed 
rule  in  regard  to  voting,  that  motion  is  not  in  order. 

Mr.  HOFFMAN  :  It  seems  to  me  that  such  a  rule  ought  to 
be  adopted.  We  do  not  want  to  have  the  report  of  the  Committee 
on  Organization  come  in  here,  and  then  have  any  unpleasant  feel 
ing  in  regard  to  it.  I  do  not  know  that  there  will  be  anv.  but  hen- 
is  one  city  represented  by  twenty  delegates,  another  by  thirty,  while 
there  are  other  organizations  represented  by  one  or  two,  wlm-e  \ 
may  elect  the  otficers  of  this  Convention.  That  is  my  point,  and  I 
think  the  motion  is  in  order. 


lli  <  MMMI.IM  l  LL    <  <>\\  KXTIOX. 


Mr.  CHAMBERLIN,  of  Cleveland  :  This  proposition  ha- 

more  in  it  than  appears  upon  the  surface.  In  the  lir.-t  place.  it 
implies  the  want  of  a  disposition,  on  the  part  of  thi-  Committee,  to 
art  fairly:  and,  in  the  next  place,  it  assumes  to  carry  with  it  a 
method  of  voting  that  is  uncertain,  and  only  regulated  by  the  number 
who  happen  to  be  here  present  represented  on  that  Committee. 
Now,  I  do  not  apprehend  that  there  is  any  disposition  to  act  unfairly 
by  anybody.  This  is  merely  a  preliminary  step.  A  Committee  has 
been  appointed  to  present  to  the  Convention  a  plan  of  organization. 
It  will  be  for  this  Convention  to  ratify  the  action  of  this  Committee 
or  not.  jn-t  a<  it  pleases.  I  should  be  very  sorry  to  see,  at  the  outset, 
any  apprehension  manifested  that  there  would  be  any  unfair  advan 
tage  taken  of  anybody.  On  the  part  of  the  small  delegations,  it 
implies  that  the  large  ones  are  going  to  overslaugh  them;  on  the 
part  of  the  large  delegations,  it  implies  that  we  are  afraid  the  small 
ones  will  take  too  much  into  their  hands.  I  hope  this  proposition 
will  be  withdrawn,  and  the  whole  matter  submitted  to  the  Committee, 
ami  let  them  act  in  their  good  discretion,  lor  the  benefit  of  us  all. 
(Applause.) 

Mr.  HOFFMAN  :  I  have  no  feeling  upon  the  subject  at  all, 
but  I  a-k  the  question  whether  the  motion  is  in  order.  The  Com 
mittee  on  Rules  will  not  report  until  the  Committee  on  Organization 
have  made  their  report.  Now,  to  obviate;  the  very  diilienlties  to 
which  the  gentleman  has  referred,  I  have  made  this  motion.  I  do 
not  know  that  there  will  be  any  unpleasant  feclinir  occasioned  by 
the  report  of  the  Committee;  but  suppose  the  Committee  shall 
report  a  ]\<t  of  ollicers  with  which  the  larger  delegations  are  not 
saii>lied.  they  will  vote  the  report  down.  Now,  which  is  the  mo.-t 
unpleasant,  to  have  the  matter  fairly  and  quietly  considered  in  the 
Committee,  or  to  have  tin;  report  brought  before  this  body,  and  the 
Convention  refu.-e  to  ratify  it  ? 

Mr.  Tlll'KSTOX,  of  Pittshur^h  :  I  will  ask  if  a  resolution 
of  instructions  to  thi>  Committee  would  be  in  order? 

Till'  PlIKSIDKNT  :    That  would  be  in  order. 

Mr.  TlirilSTOX  :  I  would  move,  then,  that  this  Committee  be 
instructed  to  vote  lor  the  oilicers  in  the  manner  adopted  by  the 
Detroit  Convention,  that  i-.  according  to  the  representation  of  the 
>everal  States  in  Coii'_rre--. 

Ml'.  (  'llAMr.F.nLIX  :    1  move  to  amend  by  substituting.  "  accord-  * 
ini:    to  the    membership  of  the    respective    BoanN   of  Trade,  or  other 


COMMITTEE    ON    CREDENTIALS    PROPOSED.  IT 

organizations  here  represented,"  instead  of  according  to  the  represen 
tation  of  the  several  States. 

This  amendment  was  carried. 

Mr.  STRANAHAN,  of  New  York :  I  merely  wish  to  mov< , 

inasmuch  as  there  seems  to  be  no  feeling  whatever  on  this  subjrri, 
(tor  all  declare  this  to  be  the  fact,)  that  the  whole  subject  matin-  <>f 
instructing  the  Committee  lie  upon  the  table. 

The  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  passed. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :   I  move  that  the  Committees  have  leave  to 

retire  to  perform  the  duties  devolved  upon  them  by  the  Convention. 

Mr.  NAZRO,  of  Boston  :  Before  that  motion  is  put  I  have  a 
word  to  say.  It  seems  to  me  that  there  should  be  some  action  taken 
in  regard  to  the  credentials  of  members,  before  these  Committees  pro 
ceed  to  act  upon  the  subjects  committed  to  them.  If  there  should  he 
any  organizations  represented  here  who  do  not  belong  here,  it  will  1><; 
too  late  to  remedy  the  difficulty  after  these  Committees  have  reported. 
I  do  not  know  that  there  are  any  such  organizations  here  —  I  pre 
sume  there  are  none  —  but  it  seems  to  me  that,  as  a  preliminary 
matter,  we  should  have  a  Committee  on  Credentials.  I  move  the 
appointment  of  such  a  Committee,  to  consist  of  nine  members. 

Mr.  TOBEY7  of  Boston  :  I  move  the  postponement  of  Mr. 
WALBRIDGE'S  motion,  in  order  that  a  Committee  on  Credentials 
may  be  appointed.  I  am  constrained  to  make  this  motion,  from  tin- 
fact  that  there  is  at  least  one  organization,  if  not  more,  who  li-el  tli:it 
they  are  embraced  within  the  call,  on  which  question  there  may  !••• 
a  difference  of  opinion.  I  do  not  know  who  can  dctcrminr  that 
question  so  well  as  a  Committee  on  Credentials,  and  it  i-  tin-  that 
reason,  I  am  sure,  that  the  gentleman  from  Boston  has  ina«l«-  hi- 
motion. 

Mr.  TOBEY'S  motion  to  postpone  M>.  WALBBIDGE'S 

motion  was  carried. 

Mr.  ClIAMBERLIN  :  If  this  Committee  is  to  prevent  the  action 
of  any  oilier  Committee  until  it  has  made  its  report,  thereby  .It-laying 
the  business  of  the  Convention,  I  object  to  it.  I  should  rather  prefer 
that  each  Committee,  which  is  the  judge  of  its  own  members,  ju~t  M 
each  branch  of  Congress  is  the  judge  of  its  own  members,  slmuM 
expel  any  one  whom  they  find  not  entitled  to  be  there. 

Mr.  HOFFMAN:  I  move  to  amend  the  motion  by  substituting 
as  follows:  that  a  Committee  of  three,  to  be  compoM-.l  of  membew 


18  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  Boston,  be  appointed  as  a  Committee 
on  Credentials. 

Mr.  NAZRO  :  I  hope  that  motion  will  not  prevail.  The  Boston 
Board  of  Trade  would  be  sorry  to  reject  any  body  claiming  a  right 
to  be  represented  here.  We  have  called  the  Convention  together  in 
good  faith,  and  we  have  designed  to  have,  so  far  as  possible,  a  fair 
representation  of  all  business  bodies  entitled  to  meet  in  such  a  Con 
vention  as  this  from  all  parts  of  the  land.  For  one  (and  I  presume 
I  express  the  opinion  of  all  my  colleagues,)  I  should  be  very  sorry  to 
reject  any  organization,  of  a  respectable  character,  claiming  to  come 
here  as  business  men  ;  but  if  the  Convention  will  choose  a  Commit 
tee  from  various  sections,  they  can  act  impartially,  and  there  will  be 
no  ill-feeling  occasioned  by  their  action.  The  Boston  Board  of 
Trade  has  desired  to  act  with  entire  impartiality,  in  perfect  good 
faith,  and,  so  far  as  possible,  to  make  its  call  as  wide  as  the  limits  of 
the  land.  I  hope,  therefore,  that  the  motion  will  not  prevail. 

Mr.  SLOANE,  of  Sandusky,  Ohio  :    I  simply  rise  to  say, 

that  if  the  proposition  of  the  gentleman  from  Boston  is  to  be  consid 
ered  at  all  by  this  Convention,  there  is  great  propriety  in  the  motion 
submitted  by  my  friend  on  my  right  (Mr.  HOFFMAN.)  This  Conven 
tion  has  assembled  by  an  invitation  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade, 
extended  to  all  the  Boards  of  Trade  regularly  organized  throughout 
the  country,  and  it  seems  to  me  it  would  be  much  more  proper  that 
the  Committee  on  Credentials  should  consist  of  three  members  of  the 
Boston  Board  of  Trade,  than  that  it  should  be  composed  of  nine 
members,  appointed  by  the  Chair,  when  we  have  twenty  or  twenty- 
five  organizations  represented  here.  I  ask  this  Convention,  before 
they  pass  any  resolution  providing  for  the  appointment,  by  the  Chair, 
of  a  Committee  of  nine  on  Credentials,  to  consider  that  it  is  a  very 
important  question  bearing  upon  the  status  of  the  Convention,  and 
one  which  may  materially  affect  its  deliberations  and  results.  Either 
give  us  a  Committee  of  three,  composed  of  members  of  the  Boston 
Board  of  Trade,  or  give  us  a  Committee  on  Credentials  upon  which 
every  delegation  here  present  may  have  a  representation. 

Mr.  ROPES,  of  Boston  :  I  would  inquire  if  there  is  any 
practical  difficulty  in  the  way  of  the  Committee  on  Organization 
acting  also  as  a  Committee  on  Credentials?  The  Chairmen  of  the 
several  delegations  have  the  credentials  of  their  delegates,  or  may 
have  them,  and  it  seems  to  me  the  matter  may  be  very  well  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Organization,  and  be  settled  by  them  in  t In- 
readiest  way  possible. 


LIST    OF    MEMBERS.  19 

Mr.  WETHERILL,  of  Philadelphia  :    1  would  suggest  that 

this  whole  matter  had  better  be  postponed,  and  that  the  dill'm  nt  .It-le 
gations  be  called  upon  to  present  to  the  Chair  their  credentials.  That 
is  the  ordinary  way  of  organizing  conventions,  and  why  should  it  not 
be  pursued  in  this  instance  ?  It  would  save  trouble  to  the  Com 
mittee,  and  the  whole  matter  could  be  settled  in  fifteen  or  twenty 
minutes.  I  doubt  not  that  all  present  are  fully  prepared  to  say  that 
they  have  a  right  to  sit  in  this  Convention. 

I  move  that  the  whole  matter  be  indefinitely  postponed,  and  that 
the  several  delegations  be  called  and  their  credentials  presented. 

This  was  agreed  to,  and  the  motion  giving  the  Com 
mittees  leave  to  retire  was  put  and  carried. 

The  credentials  of  delegates  were  then  handed  in. 
The  list,  as  finally  perfected,  was  as  follows : 

LIST   OF   MEMBERS. 

Board  of  Trade,  Albany,  N.Y. 

Frank  Chamberlain,      William  S.  Preston,      A.  K.  Sheppard, 
James  McMartin,  William  H.  Taylor. 

Board  of  Trade,  Bath,  Me. 
B.  C.  Bailey,  William  D.  Sewall. 

Board  of  Trade,  Boston. 

Edward  Atkinson,         Charles  G.  Nazro,         Solomon  R.  Spaulding, 
Erastus  B.  Bigelow,      Otis  Norcross,  Edward  S.  Tobey, 

Francis  Dane,  George  C.  Richardson,  George  L.  Ward, 

William  Endicott,  Jr.,  Joseph  S.  Ropes,  Samuel  II.  Walley, 

Charles  W.  Freeland,  Charles  O.   Whitmore. 

Corn  Exchange,  Boston. 

Samuel  G.  Bowdlear,   Otis  Munroe,  T.  Albert  Taylor, 

Edmund  W.  Clap,        .Harrison  E.  Maynard,  Calvin  M.  Winch. 

A  very  Plumer, 
Board  of  Trade,  Buffalo,  N.Y. 

E   P   Dorr  P-  S.  Marsh,  Jason  Parker, 

Israel  T.  Hatch,  E.  S.  Prosser,  Elmorc  H.  Walker. 

Board  of  Trade,  Burlington,  Iowa. 
T.  W.  Barhydt. 
Board  of  Trade,  Chicago. 

T  N  Bond  W-  H.  Low,  W.  Nason, 

E.  W.  Blatchford,         L.  F.  Leopold,  Thorn..  Parker, 

B.  F.  Culver,  T.  P.  Lawrence,  L  W.  Preston, 


20 


<  <»MMKi;ciAL    CONVENTION. 


John  I-'.  I.raty, 
.John  C.  Dore, 
I).  II.  Dcnton, 
P.  W.  Dater, 


R.  M.  Bishop, 
L.  T.  Barr, 
8.  F.  Covingtori, 
F.  G.  Cleneay, 
Thompson  Dean, 
James  Espy, 
Thomas  H.  Foulds, 


W.  E.  "Richardson, 
A.  A.  Stone, 
V.  A.  Turpin, 
C.  L.  Wilson. 


Ira  Y.  Munn, 
S.  II.  MeCrea, 
R.  McChesney, 
Hugh  McLennan, 
Murray  Nelson, 
Chamber  of  Commerce, 
A.  L.  Fra/ar, 
John  A.  Gano, 
A.  T.  Goshorn, 
Robert  Hosea, 
William  Harvey, 
John  W.  Kirk, 
Samuel  B.  Keys, 
Board  of  Trade,  Cleveland, 
Philo  Chamberlin,         A.  Hughes, 
J.  II.  Clark, 

Board  of  Trade,  Detroit,  Mich. 

George  F.  Bagley,        Moses  W.  Field,  Thomas  McGraw, 

H.  J.  Buckley,  James  F.  Joy,  Edmund  Trowbridge, 

George  B.  Dickinson,  E.  B.  WTard. 

Produce  Exchange,  Dubuque,  Iowa. 

H»  Lowry. 
Board  of  Trade,  Jackson,  Mich. 

A.  P.  Cook. 

Board  of  Trade,  Kalamazoo,  Mich. 
W.  W.  Alcott. 


Cincinnati. 

Henry  Lewis, 
T.  W.  Moilatt, 
Henry  Pearce, 
W.  R".  Phipps, 
William  Resor, 
S.  Lester  Taylor, 
Adolph  Wood. 
Ohio. 

R.  T.  Lyon, 
J.  C.  Sage. 


Julius  Dorn, 
John  B.  Green, 


Board  of  Trade,  Louisville,  Ky. 

George  A.  Owen,          J.  J.  Porter, 

John  Tail. 
Maine  Shipbuilders'  Association. 
N.  G.  Hichborn,  Edwin  Reed,  Washington  Ryan. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  Milwaukie,  Wis. 

P.  D.  Armour,  Edward  D.  Holton,       AV.  P.  Mc-Lan-n, 

John  Bradford,  C.  Holland,  James  S.  Peck. 

M.  B.  Medbery, 
Chamber  of  Commerce,  New  York. 

D.  Colden  Murray,       John  A  Stevens,  Jr., 
L.  J.  N.  Stark,  William  .M.  Vermilye, 


S.  D.  Babcock, 
Martin  Bates,  Jr., 


J.  J.  Comstock, 

William  II.  (luion. 


J.  S.  T.  Stranahan, 


Hiram  Walbridge, 
John  M.  White. 


LIST    OF    MEAIBEBS.  21 

Produce  Exchange,  New  York. 

E.  S.  Brown,  Harvey  E.  Hicks,         Thomas  Bigney, 

William  Blanchard,       J.  Hobart  Herrick,        Francis  P.  Sage, 
John  H.  Boynton,         L.  Haseltine,  W.  W.  Wickes, 

Edward  Hincken,          A.  H.  Philips,  Paul  Worth, 

W.  II.  Harris,  Isaac  H.  Reed,  H.  Youngs,  Jr. 

Board  of  Trade,  Norfolk,  Va. 

James  Y.  Leigh. 

Board  of  Trade,  Ogdensburgh,  N.Y. 
D.  W.  C.  Brown,  George  A.  Eddy,          W.  L.  Proctor. 

O.  C.  Lee, 

Board  of  Trade,  Oswego,  N.Y. 

D.  G.  Fort,  F.  B.  Lathrop,  J.  W.  Pitkin, 

A.  H.  Failing,  George  B.  Sloan. 

Board  of  Trade,  Philadelphia. 

George  N.  Allen,  D.  C.  McCammon,        George  N.  Tatham, 

Samuel  T.  Canby,         Thomas  Potter,  John  P.  Wetherill, 

Frederic  Fraley,  E.  A.  Souder,  Henry  Winsor, 

Samuel  V.  Merrick,  Edward  R.  Wood. 

Commercial  Exchange,  Philadelphia. 

Thomas  Allman,  Robert  Ervein,  Seneca  E.  Malone, 

George  L.  Buzby,         C.  J.  Hoffman,  John  H.  Michener, 

C.  H.  Cummings,          H.  S.  Hannis,  S.  L.  Ward. 

Philip  B.  Mingle, 
Board  of  Trade,  Pittsburgh,  Pa. 

James  I.  Bennett,          George  W.  Cass,  D.  McCandless, 

Felix  R.  Brunot,  C.  B.  Herron,  George  H.  Thurston. 

George  W.  Hailman, 
Board  of  Trade,  Portland,  Me. 

Samuel  J.  Anderson,     T.  C.  Hersey,  A.  K.  Shurtleff, 

Woodbury  S.  Dana,      Charles  H.  Haskell,      George  W.  Woodman. 

M.  N.  Rich, 

Board  of  Trade,  Salem,  Mass. 

Charles  Harrington,      W.  P.  Phillips,  C.  A.  Ropes, 

John  C.  Osgood,  J-  0.  Safford. 

Board  of  Trade,  Sandusky,  Ohio. 

S.  W.  Butler,  F.  E.  Foster,  J.  O.  Moss, 

W.  J.  Dill,  Rllsh  R'  Sloanc- 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  San  Francisco. 
William  T.  Coleman,    Alfred  DeWitt,  Moses  Ellis. 


22  COMMERCIAL  CONVENTION. 

Board  of  Trade,  Scranton,  Pa. 

George  Corny. 
Board  of  Trade,  Springfield,  Ohio. 

Nahum  H.  Andrews. 
Board  of  Trade,  St.  Louis. 

M.  A.  Bryson,  Martin  Collins,  W.  H.  Pulsifer, 

J.  H.  Britton,  James  P.  Fiske,  E.  C.  Pike, 

II.  W.  Crittenden,         K.  W.  Fox,  X.  W.  Warne. 

John  R.  Lionberger, 

Union  Merchants'  Exchange,  St.  Louis. 

J.  H.  Alexander,  A.  AV.  Fagin,  George  Pegram, 

J.  E.  Carpenter,  W.  T.  Hazard,  M.  L.  Pottle, 

Nathan  Cole,  Wm.  Heinrichshofer,  W.  W.  Sanford, 

J.  P.  Colcord,  William  Hunicke,  William  Wallace, 

D.  D.  Duncan,  George  H.  Morgan,  II.  R.  Whitmore, 

J.  C.  Ewald,  Thomas  Morrison,  H.  C.  Yaeger. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Paul,  Minn. 
Russell  Blakely,  James  Wr.  Taylor,         Joseph  A.  Wheelock. 

Board  of  Trade,  Toledo,  Ohio. 

Frederick  Bissell,         R.  Cnmmings,  E.  W.  Harris, 

M.  D.  Carrington,          George  W.  Davis,         C.  A.  King, 
John  B.  Carson,  William  T.  Walker. 

Board  of  Trade,  Troy,  N.Y. 

Thomas  Coleman,          James  Forsyth,  Thomas  A.  Tillinghast, 

Charles  Eddy,  Perry  E.  Toles. 

Board  of  Trade,  Wilmington,  Del. 

John  II.  Adams,  Francis  Barry,  G.  G.  Lobdell, 

Edward  Betts,  Samuel  Bancroft,  Jr.,    E.  T.  Warner,  Jr. 

A  communication  from  Mr.  HORACE  H.  DAY,  of 
Niagara  Falls,  New  York,  was  read  by  the  Secretary, 
asking  for  himself  admission  to  the  Convention  on 
the  ground  of  his  long  and  intimate  connection  with 
the  transportation  interests  of  the  country. 

Mr.  BRADFORD,  of  Milwaukic  :  I  move  that  Mr.  DAY  be 
admitted. 

Mr.  ClIAMm:i;u\.  of  CU'vi'land  :  I  should  be  very  glad  to 
have  the  gentleman  admitted  as  a  member  of  thi>  Convention,  but  if 


MR.    DAY'S    APPLICATION    FOR   A    SEAT.  23 

you  once  open  that  door,  you  cannot  close  it.  The  call  is  for  a 
"  Commercial  Convention."  The  moment  you  go  beyond  that,  you 
will  have  this  room  so  full  you  cannot  breathe. 

A  Delegate  :  It  is  quite  competent  for  the  Convention  to  close 
the  door  at  any  time. 

Mr.  HATCH,  of  Buffalo  :  I  merely  rise  to  say,  that  Mr.  DAY 
is  very  largely  concerned  in  the  construction  of  a  work  of  national 
importance,  and  is  therefore  deeply  interested  in  the  action  of  this 
Convention.  For  one,  sir,  I  should  hope  that  the  Convention  would 
admit  Mr.  DAY  as  a  member. 

Mr,  WOOD,  of  Philadelphia :  I  recollect  that  some  such 
question  came  up  at  Detroit,  and  I  think  the  gentleman  was  invited 
to  attend  the  meetings  of  that  Convention,  but  without  the  privilege 
of  voting.  I  should  think  this  would  be  the  proper  way  to  put  the 
question  now. 

Mr.  BRADFORD  :  I  made  my  motion  upon  this  ground.  I  feel 
that  we  are  here  as  a  Convention  of  business  men,  to  take  counsel 
together.  I  have  not  sympathized  with  those  gentlemen  who  were 
earnest  upon  the  question  of  credentials.  I  would  not  shut  out  any 
gentleman,  from  any  part  of  the  country,  who  is  a  prominent  business 
man,  who  comes  here  with  any  fair  credentials,  or  any  fair  claim  to 
represent  any  one  of  the  important  interests  we  have  before  us. 
Mr.  DAY  is  well  known  all  over  the  country  as  a  gentleman  who  has 
taken  a  very  deep  interest  in  one  of  the  most  important  questions 
which  will  come  before  this  body ;  and  upon  this  ground  I  made  my 
motion  that  he  should  be  admitted.  There  is  force  in  the  suggestion 
of  the  gentleman  who  said  that  we  reserve  to  ourselves  the  right  to 
shut  the  door  whenever  we  please. 

Mr.  CuAMBERLIX  :  I  know  both  Mr.  DAY'S  project  and  him 
self  very  well,  and  I  endorse  all  that  the  gentleman  has  said ;  but  I 
know,  too,  that  there  are  other  projects.  This  City  of  Boston  is  full 
of  projects,  and  other  places  are  full  of  projects  of  different  kind.-, 
peculiar  to  themselves ;  and  the  representatives  of  all  these  projects 
would  be  glad  to  have  seats  upon  this  floor,  and  to  introduce  th.-ir 
projects  to  us.  Individually,  I  am  perfectly  willing  that  Mr.  DAY 
should  talk  with  the  members  of  the  Convention,  and  sit  here  during 
our  deliberations,  and  if  the  call  embraced  such  projects  as  he  and 
others  represent,  I  should  be  perfectly  willing  that  they  should  come 
in,  under  the  call.  But  the  call  does  not  embrace  anything  of  that 
kind,  and  we  ought  not  to  step  beyond  the  limits  prescribed  by  the 
Boston  Board  of  Trade  in  calling  this  Convention.  Therp  is  no 


24  COMMERCIAL    <  ON VKNTIOX. 

reason  why  people  shouM  come  in  hero  as  representative-  <>t  par 
ticular  projects,  unless  they  had  hern  invited  in  the  first  instance.  If 
they  had  heen,  they  would  have  found  seats  assigned  to  them  here. 
As  it  now  stands,  it  seems  to  me  a  gross  impropriety  to  open  the  door 
to  any  parties  not  embraced  in  the  call  of  the  Convention. 

Mr.  SOUDER,  of  Philadelphia  :  I  agree  with  the  gentleman 
last  up.  If  Mr.  DAY  should  be  admitted,  it  would  open  the  door  for 
the  admission  of  the  representatives  of  various  private  interests,  which 
certainly  do  not  come  within  the  scope  of  the  call  for  this  Convention. 
I  therefore  move  to  amend  the  motion,  that  Mr.  DAY  be  allowed  a 
seat  on  the  floor,  but  without  the  privilege  of  voting  or  speaking. 

A  motion  was  made,  and  carried,  giving  Mr.  DAY 
leave  to  address  the  Convention,  in  explanation  of  his 
position. 

Mr.  DAY  :  Living  as  I  do  in  a  village  where  we  have  no  Board 
of  Trade  or  Commercial  Association,  I  have  ventured  to  come  here, 
feeling  a  very  deep  interest  in  the  questions  which  are  to  come  before 
this  Convention.  I  have  not  come  here  to  press  any  personal  scheme 
upon  the  country;  I  have  not  come  here  to  advocate  my  own  private 
interests  alone.  Had  that  been  my  only  object,  I  could  have  pre 
sented  a  communication  to  the  Committee  having  charge  of  that 
subject,  and  I  have  no  doubt  it  would  have  received  full  consideration 
from  a  Committee  of  an  intelligent  and  eminent  body  such  as  this  is. 
The  gentleman  from  Cleveland  docs  me  great  injustice.  He  bases 
his  objection  upon  the  proposition  that  I  am  here  to  advocate  a  par 
ticular  scheme.  It  is  very  well  known  to  many  of  the  Boards  of 
Trade  in  the  West,  and  to  some  gentlemen  of  Boston,  that  I  have 
been  a  consistent  and  earnest  advocate  of  a  system  of  communication 
for  ships  between  the  sea  and  the  lakes  —  not  alone  a  communication 
round  Niagara  Falls,  lor  I  look  upon  that  as  only  one  link  in  tin- 
great  chain.  I  would  have  ships  come  up  the  river  from  New  York 
and  land  in  the  upper  lakes,  without  change  of  cargo.  (Applause.) 
That  is  my  object.  The  gentlemen  from  Buffalo  and  Cleveland  have 
opposed  me  heretofore.  They  fear  the  success  of  my  plan,  and  I 
expect  their  opposition  ;  but  I  think  it  not  fair  that  the  vote  should 
be  placed  upon  that  ground  alone. 

The  quest  inn  was  put,  and  the  amendment  pro 
viding  that  Mr.  DAY  should  not  have  the  privilege  of 
vnfmg  or  speaking  was  carried;  the  motion  was  then 
parsed.  MS  amended. 


Mil.    UJCHBORX'S    lilOIAlIKS.  I'.', 

A  communication  was  then  read  )»y  the  Secretary 
from  the  Shipbuilders'  Association  of  Maine,  wraouno. 
mg  the  appointment  of  three  delegates  to  represenl 
them  in  the   Convention:   Messrs.  N.  G.   HlCHBOBN, 
WASHINGTON  RYAN  and  T.  J.  STEWART. 

A  motion  was  made  that  the  same  courtesy  be 
extended  to  these  gentlemen  which  had  been  ex 
tended  to  Mr.  DAY. 

A  Delegate  :  Has  Ibis  organization  been  invited  to  send  dele 
gates  by  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade  ? 

The  PEESIDENT  :  No,  sir. 

Mr.  WOOD,  of  Philadelphia  :  I  would  ask  if  this  organi 
zation  is  not  an  organization  for  general  purposes,  representing  a 
large  commercial  interest  in  the  State  of  Maine? 

The  PRESIDENT  :   I  understand  so. 

Mr.  TOBEY,  of  Boston  :  I  would  suggest  that  we  may  with 
propriety  hear  one  of  the  delegates  state  their  relation  to  the  Con 
vention.  Mr.  DAY  was  allowed  to  state  his,  and  the  motion  is  to 
allow  these  gentlemen  the  same  courtesy. 

Mr.  HlCHBORN,  Of  Maine  :  Mr.  President,  allow  me  to  thank 
the  Convention  for  their  courtesy  in  permitting  me  to  state  the  facN 
in  regard  to  the  organization  which  we  represent  ;  and  allow  ni«- 
further  to  say,  before  proceeding  to  state  those  facts,  that  I  am  not 
here  to  ask,  individually,  any  courtesy  of  the  Convention.  A  ye.-u- 
ago,  seeing  that  the  commercial  interest  was  suffering  great  d«-prc--inn 
in  the  State  of  Maine,  we  organized  the  Shipbuilders1  and  Ship 
owners'  Association.  I  happen  to  be  the  President  of  that  A— n- 
ciation,  and  I  am  here  to  represent  that  interest,  not  in  its  narrow 
sense,  but  in  its  broadest  application  to  all  the  interests  of  the  country. 
I  had  supposed,  under  the  call,  that  we  had  a  right  to  conn-  In  re. 
And  you  will  further  allow  me  to  say,  that  having  taken  some 
interest  in  this  subject  during  the  last  year,  J  have  watched  ihe  rll'eri 
of  this  call,  and  have  been  in  consultation  in  regard  to  it,  and  it  did 
not  occur  to  me  that  we  did  not  have  a  right  to  come  here,  under  the 
call,  inasmuch  as  commerce  is  named.  I  repeat,  I  a-k  nothing  for 
myself;  I  only  ask  you  to  extend  this  courtesy  to  my  State,  which  is 
struggling  with  you  in  this  common  cause,  de.-irou-  as  we  all  are, 
that  the  conclusions  to  which  we  shall  arrive  may  benefit  our  common 
country  by  benefiting  each  and  all  of  its  interests. 


2 6  COM MEKCI AL    <  OVYI N T ION. 

Mr.  ATKINSON,  of  Boston  :  I  move  to  amend  the  motion,  to 
invite  tin-  delegates  to  take  full  part  in  the  proceedings  of  this  Con 
vention.  These  gentlemen  who  come  here  from  the  Shipbuilders1 
Association,  certainly  represent  a  commercial  association  ;  and  I  think 
I  can  say,  although  not  one  of  the  Committee  of  Arrangement-,  but 
simply  a  member  from  Boston,  that  they  would  have  been  invited 
had  it  occurred  to  the  Committee  to  extend  them  a  formal  invitation. 
I  supppse  if  there  were  any  Western  Board  of  Trade  or  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  technically,  to  whom  a  formal  invitation  had  not  been 
extended,  they  would  be  welcomed  upon  this  floor.  The  danger  of 
this  Convention  is,  I  fear,  that  we  shall  neglect  the  interests  of  com 
merce,  and  therefore  I  hope  and  trust  that  the  Shipbuilders'  Asso 
ciation  of  Maine  may  be  represented  upon  the  floor. 

Mr.  HATCH,  of  Buffalo  :  I  have  read  with  very  great  in 
terest  the  address  of  this  Shipbuilders'  Association  of  Maine,  and 
every  person,  I  think,  must  be  familiar  with  the  fact,  that  it  is  nec< •-- 
sary  that  something  should  be  done  in  this  country  to  relieve  the 
shipbuilding  interest  from  its  present  depressed  condition.  We  all 
know,  that  under  the  legislation  of  Congress,  or  from  some  other 
pause,  our  tonnage  on  the  ocean  has  been  rapidly  decreasing.  I 
think  it  has  decreased  at  least  one-half  in  three  years ;  and  it  is  pro 
posed  in  certain  quarters  to  abolish  the  navigation  laws  and  the 
registry  laws.  Now,  sir,  if  that  is  done,  our  tonnage  on  the  ocean 
will  not  only  be  reduced,  but  our  vessels  engaged  in  inland  commerce 
will  be  swept  from  our  inland  seas.  This  is  one  of  the  great  subjects 
which  must  come  before  the  Convention,  and  it  is  entitled  to  very 
grave  consideration.  I  am  in  favor,  therefore,  of  admitting  these 
gentlemen  from  Maine  to  full  participation  in  the  proceedings  of  the 
Convention. 

Mr.  ToBEY  :  Before  this  question  is  put,  I  desire  to  explain 
what  seems  to  me  to  be  the  difference  between  the  case  of  Mr.  DAY 
and  the  case  of  the  gentlemen  now  under  consideration.  I  a.-k 
attention  to  the  terms  of  the  call.  It  states  here,  that  one  of  the 
subjects  to  be  brought  before  this  Convention  is  "the  restoration 
of  the  foreign  commerce  of  the  country  from  its  proem  great Iv  de 
pressed  condition."  This  is  a  topic  distinctly  recoLMii/ed  in  the  call, 
and  must  of  necessity  come  before  the  Convention.  These  gentlemen 
come  here  not  to  represent  a  particular  enterprise,  even  though 
it  nielli  be  of  national  importance,  like  that  in  which  the  gentleman 
from  New  York  (Mr.  DAY)  is  engaged;  but  they  come  here  to  rep- 
n-,  in  a  gn-at  branch  of  national  industry,  all-pervading  in  its  extent; 


REPORT    OF    .NOMINATING    COMMITTEE.  l!7 

hence  the  discrimination  between  their  case  an.l  that  of  Mr.  DAY.  I 
ought  to  say,  that  in  the  case  of  Mr.  DAY,  I  abstained  from  v,,tmjr, 
quite  willing  to  leave  the  question  to  be  settled  whollj  by  the  vote  of 
gentlemen  from  other  parts  of  the  country. 

The  question  was  then  put  on  tlu>  amendment  pro- 
posed  by  Mr.  ATKINSON,  and  it  was  carried,  and  tli<> 
motion  in  that  form  passed,  giving  the  gentlemen  from 
Maine  full  admission  to  the  Convention. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on  Per 
manent  Organization,  submitted  a  list  of  officers  for  th*> 
Convention,  as  follows : 

PRESIDENT, 

E.  W.  FOX,  of  Missouri. 

VICE-PRKSIDENTS, 
AT    LARGK, 

SAMUEL  V.  MERRICK,  of  Penn.    GEORGE  F.  BAGLET,  of  Michigan. 

BY    STATES, 

F.  P.  SAGE,  of  New  York.  T.  C.  HERSEY,  of  Maine. 

GEO.  H.  THURSTON,  of  Penn.  A.  DE\VITT,  of  California. 

I.  Y.  MUNN,  of  Illinois.  G.  G.  LOBDELL,  of  Delaware. 

J.  Y.  LEIGH,  of  Virginia.  CIIAHLES  G.  NAZRO,  of  Mass. 

C.  A.  KING,  of  Ohio.  ,  R.  BLAKELEY,  of  Minnesota. 

A.  TV.  FAGIN,  of  Missouri.  T.  W.  BARHYDT,  of  Iowa. 

M.  B.  MEDBERY,  of  Wisconsin.  JCLIUS  DORN,  of  Kentucky. 

SECRETARIES, 

HAMILTON  A.  HILL,  of  Mass.       THOMAS  ALLMAN,  of  Penn. 

JOHN  T.  BEATY,  of  Illinois.  J.  C.  SAGE,  of  Ohio. 

JASON  PARKER,  of  New  York.     EDWARD  BETTS,  of  Delaware. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  I  have  the  honor  to  say,  that  the  report  was 
the  unanimous  result  of  the  deliberations  of  the  Committee,  and 
I  move  its  acceptance  and  adoption. 

Mr.  MUXN",  of  Chicago  :  It  seems  to  me  that  the  list  of  Vice- 
Presidents  from  the  various  States  is  a  kind  of  buncome  addition  to 
the  officers  necessary  to  run  this  Convention.  We  have  com<-  ben 
for  business,  if  there  is  any  business  to  do,  and  I  do  not  like  to  ha\r 
this  thing  loaded  up  with  a  great  many  officers.  We  want  men  who 


28  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

will  work,  and  I  move  that  that  part  of  the  report  he  stricken  out,  leav 
ing  tin-  President  ami  t\vo  Yin-  Presidents,  that  is  about  all  we  want. 
Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  I  will  simply  state  the  reason  why  the  Com 
mittee  acted  as  they  did.  At  the  first  great  Convention,  held  in  the 
eitv  which  the  gentleman  has  the  honor  to  represent,  in  part,  —  and 
represents  so  ably  too,  —  and  at  the  Ship  Canal  Convention,  this 
method  was  adopted.  At  the  tirst  ^National  Commercial  Convention, 
at  Detroit,  in  1865,  the  same  course  was  pursued;  and  in  order 
to  facilitate  our  labors,  we  followed  the  example  >et  by  other  Com 
mercial  Conventions,  and  we  trust  it  will  meet  the  hearty  a?s;.'nt 
of  this  body. 

Mr.  STRANAHAN,  of  New  York,  moved  the  previous 
question,  which  was  ordered,  and  the  motion  to  accept 
and  adopt  the  report  was  carried. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  and  Mr.  McCiiESNEY  were  appoint 
ed  a  Committee  to  conduct  the  President  elect  to  the 
Chair. 

On  assuming  his  official  position,  Mr.  Fox  said : 

GENTLEMEN    OF    THE    NATIONAL   COMMERCIAL   CONVENTION  OF 
THE  UNITED  STATES  : 

Standing  almost  in  sight  of  Bunker  Hill,  and,  by  a  felicitous  com 
bination  of  art  and  good  taste,  almost  in  the  living  presence  of 
the  father  of  our  country,  deliberating  at  the  home  of  Webster,  sur 
rounded  by  his  associates,  and  in  the  presence  of  the  solid  men  of  the 
nation,  it  ill  becomes  me  to  say  a  word  further  in  regard*  to  the  objects 
for  which  you  are  convened,  especially  after  the  practical  and 
eloquent  manner  in  which  the  President  of  the  Boston  Board  of 
Trade  presented  those  objects,  and  the  eloquent  manner  in  which  your 
venerable  President  from  the  State  of  Pennsylvania  has  enforced  them. 
(Applause.)  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  if  I  understand  the 
object  of  your  work,  it  is  to  unite  the  great  powers  of  agriculture, 
manufactures,  and  commerce  by  a  bond  of  common  interest.  (Ap 
plause.)  If  you  shall  so  well  succeed  in  your  deliberations  as  to  advance 
one  step  in  that  direction,  you  will  command  the  good  will  of  the 
people  and  the  blessings  of  Divine  Providence.  Thanking  you,  gen- 
tlrmcn,  for  the  honor  which  you  have  conferred  upon  the  West,  upon 
St.  Louis,  and  upon  the  St.  Louis  Board  of  Trade,  over  which  I  have 
the  honor  to  preside,  and  invoking  your  kind  indulgence  lor  any 
errors  that  I  may  commit  in  the  decisions  which  I  may  make,  in  which 


RULES    AND    ORDERS. 


I  shall  endeavor  to  exercise  what  little  common  sense  I  have,  in  order 
to  forward  promptly  the  objects  of  your  meeting,  I  have  to  nmiomu-r 
that  the  next  business  in  order  is  to  hear  the  report  of  the  Commit 
tee  on  Rules. 

Mr.  DORE,  of  Chicago,  Chairman  of  the  Committee 
on  Rules  and  Regulations,  presented  a  report,  recom 
mending  the  adoption  of  the  rules  of  the  United  States 
House  of  Representatives  for  the  government  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  Convention,  with  the  following 
exceptions  : 

1st.  No  person  shall  speak  more  than  ten  minutes  upon  the  same 
question  without  first  obtaining  the  leave  of  the  Convention. 

2nd.  No  person  shall  speak  more  than  once  upon  the  same 
subject  without  express  leave  of  the  Convention. 

3rd.  The  members  of  this  Convention  shall  vote  on  all  questions 
submitted  to  them  per  capita. 

4th.  In  the  appointment  of  Committees  composed  of  a  represen 
tative  from  each  delegation,  the  different  delegations  shall  designate 
their  own  representatives. 

5th.  On  rising  to  address  the  Chair,  members  shall  give  their 
names  and  the  names  of  the  bodies  they  represent. 

Mr.  GANG,  of  Cincinnati  :  I  move  to  amend  the  report  by 
providing  that  the  basis  of  voting  shall  be  one  vote  for  each  fifty 
members  of  the  association  represented. 

A    Delegate  :     I   would  like   to   inquire  how  many  millions 
of  people  that  would  allow  Chicago  to  vote  for?     This  is  a  v.-ry  im 
portant  matter,  and  I  hope  the  amendment  will  not  be  adopt.-.!  l,y  the 
Convention.     Each  Board  was  invited  to  send  delegates  here  on  the 
basis  of  fifty  voting  members  to  each  organization,  and  W€  have  come 
to-ether  on  that  basis;  the   Committee,  in  recommending  that  th- 
voting  should  be  done  per  capita,  thought  they  would  thus  avoid  a  gre»l 
deal  of  contention  that  might  arise  in  regard  to  the  number  belc 
to  each  Board,  and  that  we  should  be  able  to  enter  more  promptl. 
upon  the  duties  before  us.     The   Board   whic-h  I   have  the  1 
to  represent  have  a  rule  in  reference  to  voting  which  is  not  adopt., 
other  Boards,  and  it  would  be  a  very  great  hardship  to  some 
if  that  plan  should  be  adopted.     I  hope  the  report  of  I 
will  be  adopted. 

Mr    WETHERILL:  An  objection  strikes  my  m....l  -rhidi  I 
seems  'to  me  has  some  force.     In  my  own  Hoard  we  have  •*  * 


30  COM.MKKC1AL    <  <  >N  V  F.NTION. 

hundred  \\rm<  in  our  membership,  but  if  we  take  the  names  of  all  the 
individuals  in  these  linns  \ve  should  run  it  up  to  fifteen  hundred. 
How  can  we  Lr"t  at  it?  It  seems  to  me  that  the  amendment  would  so 
complicate  the  question  that  we  could  never  get  at  just  the  right 
number.  I  hope  the  report  of  the  Committee  will  be  adopted, 
as  presented. 

Mr.  HlXCKEX,  of  New  York  :  The  delegation  from  New 
York  are  willing  to  have  a  vote  of  eighteen.  Under  the  amendment 
proposed  by  the  gentlemen,  we  should  be  entitled  to  two  hundred  and 
lit'ty  or  sixty  votes.  The  delegation  do  not  claim  that.  They  are 
>ati>lied  that  they  can  represent  the  interests  of  New  York,  and  they 
arc  willing  to  submit  to  that  representation.  (Applause.)  If  you  call 
on  us  to  vote  according  to  the  number  of  our  respective  bodies,  we 
have  twenty-rive  hundred  men  in  the  Produce  Exchange,  and  here 
are  four  or  five  men  from  the  Chamber  of  Commerce,  who  will  vote 
for  another  two  thousand.  And  many  of  these  men  are  duplicated  : 
many  of  the  members  of  the  Produce  Exchange  are  members  also 
of  the  Chamber  of  Commerce.  We  all  represent  the  interests 
of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  we  are  willing  that  the  interests 
of  New  York  should  be  guided  by  the  representatives  of  all  the 
country.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  GANG  :  It  seerns  to  me  that  the  plan  proposed  will  exactly 
meet  the  ease.  We  want  to  represent  the  mechanical  and  manufac 
turing  interests  of  the  country,  and  I  see  no  way  in  which  it  can  be 
better  done  than  in  the  way  I  have  proposed.  If  New  York  happens  to 
have  so  many  more,  I  see  no  injustice,  for  my  part,  in  her  having  a 
corresponding  number  of  votes.  Before  the  vote  is  put,  I  would  like 
to  have  these  gentlemen  explain  what  they  mean  by  voting  per 
nifilta  ;  I  do  not  understand  it. 

M  r.  SLOAXE,  of  Samlusky  :  The  Committee  did  not  con 
sider  the  basis  they  recommended  entirely  equitable  ;  but  they  thought 
it  the  best  that  could  be  reported.  The  gentleman's  amendment  is 
impracticable.  It  involves  the  necessity  of  another  Committee,  to 
ascertain  how  many  members  constitute  the  different  Boards  of 
Trade  represented  on  this  floor.  This  resolution  which  was  adopted 
by  the  Committee,  and  which  is  now  before  the  house  for  its  adoption, 
i-  probably  as  equitable  as  any  plan  that  could  be  devised.  If  this 
Convention  propose  to  .-end  any  communication  to  Wa.-hinirton,  to 
influence  the  Members  of  Congress,  their  action  will  carry  with  it  a 
direct  and  positive  influence,  it'  determined  in  the  manner  proposed 
by  the  Committ.-e.  which  would  not  be  obtained  it'  the  capital  of  the 


APPOINTMENT    OF    COMMITTEES.  '•'>  1 

country  in  the  great  cities  were  to  be  represented  against  th<-  ^mailer 
cities  and  towns,  scattered  all  over  the  Middle  Siatr.-,  the  \\ CM,  and 
the  North-West.  I  am  opposed  to  the  amendment,  and  in  favor 
of  the  report  of  the  Committee. 

The  question  was  put,  and  the  amendment  rejected. 
The  report  of  the  Committee  was  then  a(vq>u><l  and 
adopted  unanimously. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  I  move  that  a  Committee  of  nine  he  ap 
pointed  by  the  Chair,  on  each  of  the  subjects  submitted  tor  the 
consideration  of  the  Convention  by  the  Boston  Hoard  of  Trade, 
except  the  Committee  on  Currency,  which  Committee  >hall  con-i-t  of 
fifteen  members. 

Mr.  FliALEY  :  I  move  to  amend,  so  as  to  provide  that 
each  of  the  Committees  on  these  several  subjects  embraced  in 
the  call,  shall  consist  of  one  delegate  from  each  Board  or  organ 
ization  represented  in  the  Convention,  and  that  each  delegation 
shall  name  its  own  member  of  the  Committee. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :   I  accept  the  amendment. 

Mr.  BRYSON",  of  St.  Louis  :  I  wish  to  say,  in  regard  to  this 
amendment,  that  inasmuch  as  we  have  already  decided  that  we  will 
vote  finally  per  capita,  I  do  not  see  the  necessity  of  recogni/ini: 
again  the  element  of  different  associations.  If  we  do.  these  Com 
mittees  will  consume  a  very  large  amount  of  time,  and  we  .-hall  not 
have  a  report  for  two  or  three  days.  I  think  Committees  of  ten 
would  be  large  enough.  Let  them  be  comprised  of  members  from  i In 
different  sections,  and  then,  when  they  make  their  reports,  if  then 
any  change  desired  by  the  different  sections,  let  them  vote  for  it  here. 
I  do  not  see  the  necessity  of  again  bringing  up  this  qm-tion  of  B 
eiations.  Let  the  vote  be  per  capita  in  the  Committee.,  aa  it  U  ;«T 
capita,  in  the  tinal  action. 

Mr.  FRALEY  :    I  believe  that  the  questions  which  this  Conven 
tion  are  to  consider  are  so  important,  that  upon  every  (me  the  opinion 
of  the  different  delegations  should,  in  Committee,  have  a  fair  chance 
expression.     (Applause.)     In  no  other  way  than  tin-  DM 
po«ed  ean  such  an  expression  of  opinion  be  obtained.     The  quert 
are  broad  in  their  nature.     They  reach  to  the  very  roots  of  >oc,etv  ; 
they  strike  at  the  foundations  of  all  our  prosperity  ;  and.  unle, 
be  'such  an  examination  of  them  as  will  go  to  the  root,  the  cxamma- 
tion   is    worthless.      Now,   a    Committee   of   fitl,,n    to   ,,m,,,l,r   «!„- 
question    of    the    currency,  as    BOgge^    by    my    inend    iron,    fe» 


oj  COMMKKCIAL    «  >N  V  KN  TlO.V 

York,  would  approach  very  nearly  to  what  I  propose  for  the 
other  Committees.  Upon  that  great  question  of  the  currency,  I 
hold  that  each  Hoard  of  Trade  and  commercial  organization  rep- 
iv-uited  in  this  Convention  should  have  a  vo'e.  There  are 
vciv  Liieat  differences  of  opinion  upon  this  subject.  \Ve  have 
not  only  differences  of  individual  opinion  upon  this  subject,  but  there 
are  sectional  differences  upon  it,  which  are  to  be  reconciled,  and  we 
cannot  expect  or  hope  to  reconcile  them  upon  this  floor  in  speeches  of 
ten  minutes  each.  In  such  a  Committee,  constituted  as  proposed, 
each  section  would  have  its  sectional  voice,  each  commercial  repre 
sentation  would  have  its  commercial  voice  ;  and  we  might  expect  that 
reports  coming  from  Committees  so  constituted,  and  in  which  these 
subjects  had  been  fully  discussed,  would  meet  with  the  same  unani 
mous  approbation  as  the  reports  of  the  Committees  upon  which  we 
have  acted  this  morning,  which  Committees  were  constituted  precisely 
in  the  same  way  that  I  propose  these  general  Committees  shall  be. 
It  is  perfectly  fair,  that  upon  these  questions,  the  Committees  should 
be  so  constituted.  The  Chairman,  impartial  as  he  may  be,  trust 
worthy  as  he  may  be,  and  as  I  concede  him  to  be,  has  no  personal 
knowledge  of  the  members  of  the  Convention,  such  as  will  enable 
him  to  make  his  selections  as  he  would  if  he  knew  us  all  personally  ; 
but  we,  in  our  respective  delegations,  know  each  other  ;  we  know  to 
what  extent  gentlemen  in  our  respective  delegations  have  attended  to 
these  various  questions  ;  we  know  the  feeling  of  our  several  constitu 
encies  upon  them  ;  and  we  can  present  in  such  Committees  those 
feelings  and  those  views,  and  have  them  properly  and  thoroughly 
di.-ctissed  and  compared  ;  and  when  such  Committees  as  I  propose  we 
shall  have  upon  these  subjects  come  to  report,  I  am  satisfied  their 
reports  will  meet  with  the  unanimous  approval  of  this  house,  as  we 
have  found  to  be  the  case  this  morning.  If  a  Committee  of  fifteen 
be  right  on  the  question  of  the  currency,  a  Committee  of  fifteen  would 
certainly  be  right  upon  the  question  of  foreign  commerce,  and  would 
be  equally  necessary  upon  the  subject  of  taxation,  and  its  bearing 
upon  the  tariff  question. 

I  think,  sir,  that  I  have  said  enough  to  convince  the  Convention 
that  the  constitution  of  the  Committees  in  this  way  is  the  fair  way  to 
constitute  them,  and  that  they  ought  to  agree  to  the  proposition. 

The  question  was  then  taken,  and  the  motion 
carried. 

Mr.  ATKINSON,  of  Boston  :  I  move  a  reconsideration  of  that 
vote.  I  think  gentlemen  are  not  aware  that  there  are  thirty-two 


APPOINTMENT    OF    COMMITTEES.  33 

different  bodies  represented  here,  and  the  vote  will  therefore  require 
that  each  Committee  consist  of  thirty-two  members.  If  these  Com- 
mittees  are  to  cut  and  dry  the  work  of  the  Convention, 'and  decide 
what  it  shall  do,  perhaps  it  would  be  well  to  have  them  consist 
of  thirty-two  or  more  members  each  ;  but  if  not,  if  the  Convention 
is  to  do  something  itself,  they  should  be  simply  Business  Committees, 
to  systematize  the  business,  and  aid  the  Convention  in  its  work. 

Mr.  TOBEY,  of  Boston  :  If  tlmt  vote  is  adhered  to,  we  shall 
find  that  our  work  is  to  be  nearly  doubled  in  this  Convention.  Wu 
come  here  as  a  commercial  body,  and  we  are  tenacious,  as  a  commer 
cial  body,  of  the  saving  of  time.  Now,  I  submit,  that  if  we  put  thirty- 
two  men  on  each  of  these  Committees,  we  must  expect  minority 
reports  from  each  one  of  them,  and  a  great  deal  of  time  will  necessarily 
be  consumed  in  discussing  jthem.  I  submit,  that  any  nine  gentlemen, 
chosen  in  a  fair  way,  are  competent  to  bring  before  us  the  considera 
tion  of  any  question.  When  it  is  here,  it  is  within  the  control  of  the 
Convention,  and  can  be  acted  upon  as  we  see  fit,  and  much  time 
will  be  saved.  We  cannot  do  injustice  to  any  section  of  the  country, 
when  a  Committee  makes  a  report,  and  when  that  report  is  fairly 
discussed  and  acted  upon. 

Mr.  STRANAHAN,  of  New  York :  I  apprehend  that  the 

very  liberal  views  of  the  Convention  will  not  embarrass  us  at  all.  The 
Committees  are  to  judge  of  the  matters  brought  before  them,  and  each 
Committee  will  have  the  sagacity  to  see  the  value  of  time,  and  will 
appoint  Sub-Committees  to  take  charge  of  the  different  matters,  and 
I  apprehend  we  shall  get  along  very  well. 

Mr.  POTTER,  of  Philadelphia  :  I  will  inquire  of  the  Secre 
tary  the  number  of  organizations  represented  in  the  Convention? 

Mr.  HlLL  :    Less  than  thirty,  so  far  as  reported. 

MR.  POTTER  :  There  will  be  no  difficulty  in  having  Committees 
constituted  of  from  twenty-six  to  thirty  members.  The  object  is  to 
have  these  Committees  collect  facts  and  digest  business,  and  present 
it  in  more  tangible  form;  and  a  large  Committee  is  quite  as  competent 
to  do  this  as  a  small  one.  The  whole  object  is  to  obtain  information 
and  present  it  in  the  best  possible  form,  in  order  that  those  who  are 
in  this  body  may  be  able  to  come  to  such  a  decision  as  will  make  the 
best  impression  upon  the  public  mind,  and  bring  about  the  best  state 
of  things  in  regard  to  all  these  measures.  I  think  there  are  no  diffi 
culties^  the  \vayof  having  the  Committees  as  proposed  by  my 
colleague,  (Mr.  FKALEY,)  and  I  hope  the  reconsideration  will  not 
prevail. 


34  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

The  question  was  then  put,  and  the  motion  to 
reconsider  was  lost. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  SHEPPARD,  of  Albany,  it  was  voted, 
that  when  the  Convention  adjourn,  it  be  to  meet  at 
ten  o'clock,  to-morrow. 

Mr.  BAGLEY,  of  Detroit  :  I  move  that  the  Committee  of 
Arrangements,  appointed  by  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade,  be  invited 
to  take  seats  on  the  floor. 

Carried. 

Mr.  ADAMS,  of  Wilmington,  Del.  :  I  move  that  the  matter 
of  internal  taxation  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Currency. 

Mr.  ROPES,  of  Boston  :  I  hope  that  will  not  be  done.  It 
strikes  me  that  the  Committee  on  Currency  have  one  of  the  most 
difficult  and  important  questions  to  consider,  and  it  is  not  worth  while 
to  saddle  them  with  this  question  of  taxation.  I  move  to  amend,  that 
there  be  a  Special  Committee  formed  in  the  same  way  as  other 
Committees,  on  the  general  subject  of  taxation. 

Mr.  FRALEY  :  In  one  of  the  calls  for  this  Convention,  there  was 
just  such  a  proposition  as  my  friend  from  Delaware  has  referred  to, 
and  it  formed  a  part  of  the  text  from  which  I  spoke  this  morning. 
"Third.  The  relief  of  our  manufacturing  and  other  great  producing 
interests,  by  reducing  the  burdens  of  taxation." 

The  PRESIDENT  :  That  has  a  scope  sufficient  to  embrace  the 
gentleman's  proposition. 

Mr.  Al)AMS  :  Allow  me  to  say,  that  is  not  the  call  upon  which 
we  are  assembled  here  this  morning. 

The  Secretary,  by  request  of  the  Chair,  read  the 
official  call. 

Mr.  FRALEY  :  I  read  from  a  late  number  of  the  Commercial 
Bulletin :  "  In  the  article  published  in  our  columes  two  or  three 
weeks  ago,  there  were  two  or  three  things  omitted."  Then  follows 
the  list  of  subjects,  and  the  third  is  this  —  "The  relief  of  our  manu 
facturing  and  other  great  producing  interests,  by  reducing  the  burdens 
of  taxation."  Now,  that  is  a  perfectly  simple  proposition,  one  that 
claims  the  attention  of  this  body,  and,  in  mv  judgment,  one  of  the 
most  important  of  all  of  them,  and  I  hope  that  a  Committee  will  be 
raised  upon  it,  and  that  it  will  be  considered  as  included  in  the  call. 

Mr.  TAYLOR,  of  St.  Paul  :  At  the  Detroit  Commercial  Con 
vention,  one  of  the  most  useful  Committees  of  that  bodv  was  the 


A    COMMITTEE    OX    INTERNAL    TAXATION.  35 

Committee  on  Finance,  and  by  common  consent,  that  Committee  was 
made  competent  to  consider  every  question  bearing  upon  taxation,  as 
well  as  currency.  It  seems  to  me  that  if  the  Standing  Committee  we 
have  designated  as  the  Committee  on  Currency  was  designated  as  the 
Committee  on  Finance,  it  would  be  a  very  proper  Committee  for  all 
questions  bearing  upon  that  subject. 

Mr.  ClIAMBEKLIX,  Of  Cleveland  :  It  appears  to  me  that 
this  matter  may  be  very  easily  disposed  of.  Some  gentleifltn  seem 
to  be  afraid  of  burdening  this  Committee  on  Currency  by  referring 
this  question  to  them  ;  but  it  appears  to  me  that  this  proposition 
belongs  properly  to  that  Committee,  and  if  they  embrace  the  two 
subjects,  they  can  appoint  a  Sub-Committee  for  each,  and  combine 
their  reports,  without  any  trouble  at  all. 

Mr.  TOBEY:  I  find  in  the  call  this  sentence  — "  And  such 
other  subjects,  not  of  a  local  or  political  character,  as  may  properly 
come  before  the  Convention."  It  is,  therefore,  for  the  Convention 
to  determine  what  may  properly  come  before  it.  The  gentle 
man  has  made  his  motion  that  this  subject  of  taxation  be  considered 
by  the  Convention.  We  have  accepted  that,  and  the  question  is,  how 
shall  we  act  upon  it?  I  submit,  that  the  Committee  on  such  a  broad 
national  subject  as  that,  should  be  selected  in  the  same  way  as  every 
other  Committee  has  been  selected. 

Mr.  STRANAHAN  :  It  is  quite  evident  that  there  will  be  many 
questions  introduced  here  outside  of  the  four  or  five  propositions 
stated  by  the  Board  of  Trade  of  this  city.  I  would  suggest, 
therefore,  whether  it  would  not  be  wise  to  appoint  a  Committee 
to  whom  all  such  questions  should  be  referred.  It  will  save  a 
great  deal  of  time.  Let  the  Committee  be  appointed  in  the  usual 
mode,  and  consist  of  a  member  from  each  body  represented  here  upon 
this  floor.  If  you  have  such  a  Committee,  then  all  these  questions 
may  be  referred  to  it,  and  it  will  facilitate  the  proceedings  of  the 
Convention,  I  make  no  doubt. 

Mr.  WETIIERILL,  of  Philadelphia :  I  think  this  subject  is 

of  sufficient  importance  to  have  a  Special  Committee,  and  I  do  hope 
the  gentleman  from  New  York  will  not  load  the  Committee  down 
with  any  thing  else.  If  you  refer  any  other  outside  matter  to  the 
Committee,  I  do  not  believe  they  can  consider  it  at  all.  Let  us 
appoint  a  Special  Committee  for  it,  and  for  it  alone,  and  then  the 
motion  of  the  gentleman  from  New  York  will  be  in  order,  that  there 
be  a  Committee  appointed  to  whom  all  other  subjects  may  be  referred. 
I  do  hope  that  this  Convention  will  give  us  a  Special  Committee  on 
so  important  a  subject. 


36  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

Mr.  HATCH,  of  Buffalo:  I  would  like  to  ask  the  President 
of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  Boston,  whose  name  is  attached  here,  and 
who  seems  to  be  responsible  for  the  classification  of  the  subjects  Which 
are  to  be  presented  to  the  Convention,  to  explain  what  I  would  call 
the  sort  of  a  scoop-net  which  is  attached  to  the  call  —  "And  such 
other  subjects,  not  of  a  local  or  political  character,  as  may  properly 
come  before  the  Convention."  We  should  like  to  have  some  idea  as 
to  whatTs  contemplated  by  this  section,  and  I  would  ask  the  President 
of  the  Board  of  Trade  for  an  explanation  of  it.  We  want  to  know 
something  what  it  means.  (Calls  of  u  Question,"  "  Question.") 

The  amendment  proposed  by  Mr.  ROPES,  providing 
for  the  appointment  of  a  Special  Committee  on  the 
general  subject  of  taxation,  was  accepted  by  Mr.  ADAMS, 
and  the  motion,  in  that  form,  passed. 

Mr.  TlIURSTON,  of  Pittsburgh  :  I  notice  by  the  call,  that 
the  subject  of  "  the  restoration  of  the  foreign  commerce  of  the  coun 
try  from  its  present  greatly  depressed  condition"  is  to  be  considered 
by  this  Convention.  It  seems  to  me,  and  to  others,  that  there  are 
other  interests  in  this  country  than  "  foreign  commerce,"  that  are  noxv 
in  a  depressed  condition,  and  I  would  move  that  there  be  a  Commit 
tee  on  the  enhancement  of  the  agricultural  and  the  restoration  of  the 
manufacturing  interests  of  the  country. 

Mr.  SLOANE,  of  Sandusky  :  There  will  probably  be  other 
questions  submitted  for  consideration  than  those  already  named,  and 
if  we  appoint  a  Committee  for  every  subject  that  may  be  presented 
for  consideration,  we  may  have  a  hundred  different  Committees.  I 
would  move,  therefore,  as  an  amendment,  the  appointment  of  a  Com 
mittee  to  be  called  the  Miscellaneous  Committee,  to  whom  may 
be  referred  such  other  incidental  matters  as  may  be  referred  to  the 
Convention. 

One  other  matter.  It  is  proposed  that  the  names  of  these  Com 
mittees  be  reported  at  ten  o'clock  to-morrow  morning.  Now,  many 
of  the  delegates  desire  to  get  through  with  the  business  of  this 
Convention,  if  practicable,  within  a  reasonable  period  of  time  —  say 
two  or  three  days.  I  apprehend  that  many  of  the  gentlemen  here 
understand  the  very  great  importance  of  the  action  contemplated, 
and  the  reports  of  the  Committees  will  be  arrived  at  only  after  a  great 
deal  of  labor.  If  it  is  the  object  of  this  Convention  to  have  any  in 
fluence  upon  the  legislation  of  this  country,  the  action  of  the 
Committees  should  be  well  considered,  and  presented  clearly  for  the 


THE    MANUFACTURING   INTEREST.  37 

consideration  of  the  legislative  bodies  of  the  nation.  It  seems  to  me 
that  the  delegations  should  announce  their  Committees  before  we 
adjourn,  and  I  think  those  Committees  should  meet  to-morrow  morn 
ing.  We  who  do  not  live  in  your  great  cities  are  in  the  habit 
of  going  to  work  early  in  the  morning,  and  we  might  meet  at  eight 
or  nine  o'clock,  and  be  ready  to  report  when  the  Convention  meets. 

Mr.  TlIURSTON  :  It  seems  to  me  that  the  depressed  condition 
of  the  manufactures  of  the  country  is  as  worthy  of  consideration  as 
the  depressed  condition  of  our  foreign  commerce.  The  interests  of 
agriculture,  manufactures,  and  commerce  are  so  intertwined,  as  has 
been  ably  and  eloquently  said  by  several  gentlemen  here,  that  what 
ever  benefits  or  depresses  one,  benefits  or  depresses  all.  I  hope  that 
this  Convention  will  not  refuse  to  order  a  Committee  on  two  such 
interests  as  the  agricultural  and  the  manufacturing.  It  is  not  a 
merely  local  question.  It  is  a  question  that  concerns  the  whole 
country,  in  every  shape  and  form.  I  am  sure  that  upon  the  agricul 
tural  and  manufacturing  interests  depend  in  large  measure  the 
interests  of  our  foreign  commerce. 

Mr.  WARD,  of  Detroit :   Before  the  question  is  put,  I  hope 
gentlemen  will  consider  the  very  important  subject  now  before  the 
Convention.     As  the  gentleman  says,  no  subject  has  or  probably  will 
come   up  of  so  much  importance  to  the  national  interests  as  the 
subjects  of  taxation  and  of  manufactures.    Upon  these  two  subjects  the 
prosperity  of  this  country  now  and  hereafter  must  depend  ;  and,  in 
my  judgment,  all  other  subjects   that  are  here  before  the  Convention 
are  of  minor  importance  to  these.   Taxation  is  weighing  heavily  upon 
all  parts   of  the  country,   and   especially  on  the   West.     Money  i 
scarce  there.     The  manufacturing  interests  of  the  country  are  cei 
tainly  very  much  depressed,  both  at  the   East  and  the  West 
Eastern  manufacturers  are  suffering  because  the  West  has 
money,  and  cannot  buy  their  goods  and  pay  for  them, 
of  taxation   is  one  that  affects  the  whole  nation.     In  my  j. 
the  importations  into  this  country  are  so  large  that  we  mu, 
them,  or  suspend  specie  payments  for  all  time  to  come, 
our  specie  to  Europe-for  what?    To  buy  the  labor  of  Europe. 
are  talking  about  a  return  to  specie  payments.     It  is  a  mcr 
It  is  utterly  impracticable.    Our  importations  have  been  so  large,  tli 
they  have  taken  all  our  cotton   and  corn,  and  all  our  other  exports, 
and  twelve  hundred  millions  of  coin,  and  probably  fifteen  o, 
hundred  millions  of  state  and  national  securities,  to  pay  or  t! 
between  this  country  and  Europe.     If  this  subject  is  not  one  , 


38  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

ficient  importance  for  this  Convention  to  consider,  I  certainly  do  not 
know  what  is.  We  never  can  reach  specie  payments  while  all  our 
gold  goes  to  other  countries  to  pay  for  commodities  which  we  import ; 
it  cannot  be  done.  We  never  can  pay  our  national  debt  while 
our  manufactures  are  prostrate  ;  it  is  impossible.  The  industry  of  the 
country  is  the  only  means  through  which  wealth  can  be  procured,  and 
it  is  the  only  means  through  which  we  can  ever  pay  our  national  debt. 
The  Western  people  are  as  honest  as  any  in  the  world  ;  but  if 
you  drive  them  to  the  wall,  you  may  endanger  your  national  debt 
and  your  national  bonds.  (Hisses.) 

Mr.  BBYSON,  of  St.  Louis  :  I  move  that  the  motion  for  the 
appointment  of  a  Miscellaneous  Committee  be  laid  upon  the  table, 
until  this  motion  of  the  gentleman  from  Pittsburgh  can  be  acted  upon. 
I  think  the  question  is  a  very  important  one,  and  that  it  should  have 
a  special  committee.  Then  let  the  gentleman  come  in  and  have 
an  omnibus  committee,  if  he  wishes. 

Mr.  POTTER,  of  Philadelphia :  I  think  it  would  be  better 

to  vote  down  the  proposition  with  regard  to  an  omnibus  or  miscel 
laneous  committee,  and  also  for  a  Committee  on  Manufactures.  We 
have  commenced  preparations  for  doing  business,  and  an  arrange 
ment  has  been  made  for  the  appointment  of  Committees  covering  all 
the  subjects  embraced  in  the  call.  Now,  if  there  are  any  other 
subjects  besides  those,  it  is  a  very  easy  matter  to  bring  them  in  by 
resolution,  and  have  them  referred  to  one  of  these  Committees. 
There  will  be  abundance  of  time  on  some  of  these  Committees  tof 
consider  other  subjects  than  those  specified  under  a  particular  head 
in  the  call.  I  think,  therefore,  the  better  course  is  to  stop  with  what 
we  have  done  to-day,  and  after  we  have  had  these  Committees 
announced  at  the  next  meeting,  then  we  can  see  whether  there  is  a 
necessity  for  making  any  addition  to  these  Committees  or  not. 

The  question  was  then  put  on  the  amendment  of 
Mr.  SLOANE,  and  it  was  lost.  The  original  motion  of 
Mr.  TIIURSTON  was  carried. 

Mr.  WETIIERILL  offered  the  following  resolution, 
which  was,  on  his  motion,  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Currency: 

Resolved,  That  the  Committee  on  Currency  be  requested  to  inquire 
into  the  propriety  of  memorializing  Congress  to  abolish  the  Usury 
Laws. 


ARRANGEMENTS    FOR    RECREATION.  39 

Mr.LiNCOLN,  Chairman  of  the  Committee  of  \  range- 
mcnts  on  the  part  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade,  was 
then  introduced,  and  said  : 

Mr.  PRESIDENT:  — In  behalf  of  my  colleagues  of  the  Committee 
of  Arrangements,  I  would  express  our  great  obligations  for  the 
courtesy  extended  to  us  in  inviting  us  to  seats  upon  this  floor. 

The  gentlemen  who  are  here  are  very  well  aware,  that  for  such  a 
Convention  it  is  necessary  to  make  some  arrangements,  and  the 
Board  of  Trade  has  appointed  a  Committee  for  that  purpose.  We 
shall  endeavor  not  to  interfere  at  all  with  the  business  of  the  Con 
vention,  but  we  have  supposed  that  you  would  have  some  leisure 
hours  in  which  there  would  be  opportunity  for  free  social  intercourse 
between  the  citizens  of  Boston  and  the  members  of  this  Convention. 
Acting  upon  this  supposition,  we  shall  extend  to  you  these  courtesies, 
which  we  hope  you  will  receive  in  the  same  spirit  in  which  they  are 
tendered.  (Applause.) 

The  time  is  already  so  far  spent  that  the  arrangements  for  this 
afternoon  may  be  somewhat  interfered  with,  and  I  will  not  trouble 
the  Convention  with  any  further  remarks.  I  will,  however,  go  over 
a  brief  programme,  that  you  may  know  what  our  plans  are. 

To-day,  we  propose,  after  the  Convention  adjourns,  to  take  a  sleigh 
ride  in  the  suburbs  of  our  city.  It  will  occupy  an  hour  and  a  half 
or  two  hours,  and  we  shall  be  able  to  bring  you  back  to  your  respec 
tive  hotels  in  time  for  dinner. 

We  understand  that  quite  a  number  of  the  gentlemen  have  brought 
their  ladies  with  them,  and  we  shall  be  very  happy  to  give  them  an 
excursion  also ;  it  is  proposed  by  the  Committee  that  to-morrow  the 
ladies  shall  have  a  sleigh  ride.  (Applause.) 

This  evening,  there  is  to  be  a  Concert  at  the  Music  Hall,  to  which  all 
the  members  are  entitled  to  tickets.  Our  friends  will  meet  at  this 
Concert  —  which  is  to  be  a  sort  of  Promenade  Concert  —  many  of 
the  ladies  and  gentlemen  of  the  city,  and  they  will  have  an  oppor 
tunity  of  making  acquaintances  there. 

To-morrow  evening,  the  Convention  will,  it  is  hoped,  accept  the 
invitation  of  the  City  of  Boston,  to  a  banquet  at  the  same  Hall. 

On  Friday  evening,  the  new  Masonic  Hall  will  be  open  for  in 
spection  by  the  members  of  the  Convention  ;  and  at  half-past  eight 
o'clock,  there  will  be  a  reception  by  the  Board  of  Trade  at  the 
American  House,  where  you  will  meet  most  of  the  business  men  of 
the  city. 


40  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

It  has  been  suggested  that  some  delegates,  —  we  hope  a  great 
many,  —  will  remain  here  on  Saturday,  and  in  anticipation  of  this, 
the  gentlemen  who  are  interested  in  the  factories  at  Lawrence,  have 
given  an  invitation  to  the  members  of  this  Convention  to  make  an 
excursion  to  Lawrence,  so  that  they  may  see  the  Pacific  Mills,  and 
some  of  those  other  large  manufacturing  establishments  which  have 
done  so  much  for  New  England. 

A  telegraphic  despatch  was  read  from  Mr.  CIIAPIN, 
President  of  the  Boston  and  Albany  Railroad,  inviting 
the  Western  delegates  to  return  by  that  road  and  its 
connections  westward,  free  of  charge. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned,  to  meet  Thursday 
morning  at  ten  o'clock. 


SECOND  DAY. 

THURSDAY,  FEBRUARY  6,  1868. 


The  Convention  met  at  half  past  ten  o'clock,  and 
was  called  to  order  by  the  President. 

Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  CHANDLER  BOBBINS, 
D.D.,  of  Boston. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  MORGAN,  of  St.  Louis,  the  reading 
of  the  record  of  yesterday's  proceedings  was  dispen 
sed  with. 

Mr.  YERMILYE,  of  New  York,  called  for  the  reading 
of  the  list  of  delegates ;  it  was  read  by  the  Secretary 
from  Chicago,  (Mr.  BEATY,)  and  various  corrections 
were  made. 

Mr.  PORTER,  of  Louisville  :  I  understand  that  Mr.  E.  M. 
BARXU.AI,  of  Oregon,  representing  the  "  Randall  Steamer  Construc 
tion  Company  of  New  York,"  is  in  the  city,  and  desires  to  occupy  a 
seat  upon  the  floor.  I  move  that  he  he  admitted. 

The  motion  was  carried. 

A  communication  from  the  Natural  History  Society 
was  read,  inviting  the  members  of  the  Convention  to 
visit  the  rooms  of  the  Society  at  such  time  as  might 
suit  their  convenience. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  WETIIERILL,  of  Philadelphia,  the 
invitation  was  accepted,  and  the  thanks  of  the  Conven 
tion  were  tendered  to  the  Society  for  the  courtesy. 

Mr.  HILL,  one  of  the  Secretaries,  presented  a  com 
munication,  which  had  been  received  from  Mr.  A. 
WATSOX,  of  Washington,  in  relation  to  "storm  signals," 
and  suggested  that  it  be  referred  to  some  Committee. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  FIELD,  of  Detroit,  the  communi 
cation  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Commerce. 


42  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

Mr.  GANG,  of  Cincinnati :  I  move  the  appointment  of  a 
Committee  of  one  from  each  delegation  as  a  Committee  on  Order  of 
Business. 

Mr.  FlELD  :  A  Committee  was  raised  yesterday  for  that  pur 
pose,  (the  Committee  on  Rules  and  Regulations,)  and  if  \ve  raise 
a  second  Committee,  it  will  occupy  the  time  and  attention  of  the  Con 
vention,  and  it  occurs  to  me  that  it  will  be  useless.  I  move,  therefore, 
that  instead  of  raising  a  second  Committee,  all  new  matter  be  referred 
to  the  same  Committee,  which  consisted  of  one  from  each  commercial 
body  represented  upon  the  floor. 

Mr.  GANG  :  I  do  not  understand  that  Committee  to  have  been 
appointed  for  that  purpose. 

The  PRESIDENT  :  The  Chair  does  not  understand  that  there 
was  any  Committee  appointed  on  Order  of  Business. 

Mr.  McLAREN,  of  Milwaukie  :  I  would  like  to  ask  whether 
the  Committee  on  Rules  and  Orders  is  still  in  existence,  or  whether 
it  is  considered  as  discharged  ? 

The  PRESIDENT  :   The  Committee  has  been  discharged. 

Mr.  McLAREN  :   Then  I  favor  the  motion. 

Mr.  FlELD  :    I  will  withdraw  my  motion. 

Mr.  PORTER,  of  Louisville  :  I  move  that  the  Committee  on 
Rules  be  revived. 

Mr.  STRANAHAN,  of  New  York :  That  Committee  having 

performed  its  duty  and  been  discharged,  it  is  quite  as  well  to  make  up 
a  new  Committee.  I  think  that  is  the  shortest  way  of  disposing 
of  the  question  altogether. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER,  of  St.  Louis  :  There  is  an  objection  to 
reviving  that  Committee.  The  member  of  the  Committee  from  the 
St.  Louis  delegation  has  been  placed  on  another  important  Commit 
tee,  on  which  we  want  him  to  act.  Therefore,  if  you  revive  that 
Committee,  you  have  no  member  from  this  delegation.  Other  dele 
gations  may  be  situated  in  the  same  way,  and  for  that  reason  I  should 
prefer  having  a  new  Committee. 

The  question  was  then  put,  and  the  motion  of  Mr. 
GANO  was  adopted. 

Mr.  WETIIERILL  presented  the  following  resolutions, 
which,  on  his  motion,  were  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Agriculture  and  Manufactures : 


INVITATION    TO    VISIT    THE    LEGISLATURE.          43 

WHEREAS,  The  true  market  for  the  farmer  is  the  factory,  and 
these  two  important  interests  are  thus  intimately  connected,  and  the 
advance  of  the  one  is  an  advantage  to  the  other ;  and 

WHEREAS,  It  is  an  imperative  duty  to  protect  and  encourage 
American  manufactures  by  recommending  such  a  just  and  equitable 
readjustment  of  the  laws  as  shall  give  to  the  skilled  labor  of  this 
country  a  fair  remunerative  profit  for  the  work  performed;  and 

WHEREAS,  It  is  unwise  to  place  the  American  mechanic  on  a 
footing  with  the  ill-paid  and  suffering  laborer  of  the  old  world; 
therefore 

Resolved,  By  this  Convention,  that  the  Committee  on  Manufactures 
and  Agriculture  be  instructed  to  take  into  consideration  the  subject  of 
a  proper  readjustment  of  the  laws  regulating  the  tariff,  and  to  prepare 
a  memorial  to  Congress,  setting  forth  its  importance,  and  to  present 
the  same  for  the  action  of  this  Convention. 

At  this  point,  the  proceedings  were  interrupted  by 
the  entrance  into  the  hall  of  a  Committee  of  both 
branches  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature,  which  had 
been  appointed  to  wait  upon  the  Convention. 

The  Committee  were  invited  to  seats  upon  the 
platform,  and  after  they  had  been  introduced  severally 
to  the  President,  their  Chairman,  the  Hon.  WILLIAM 
SCHOULEK,  presented  a  communication,  which  was  read 
by  one  of  the  Secretaries,  (Mr.  HILL,)  as  follows: 

COMMONWEALTH   OF   MASSACHUSETTS. 

STATE  HOUSE,  SENATE  CHAMBER, 

BOSTON,  February  6,  1868. 

To  the  Hon.  E.  W.  Fox,  of  St.  Louis, 

President  of  the  Commercial  Convention : 

SIR  —  The  undersigned  have  the  honor  to  forward  by  a  Cora- 
mittee  of  the  two  branches  of  the  Legislature,  to  the  President  of  the 
Commercial  Convention,  now  in  session  in  Boston,  the  following  copy 
of   an   Order   which   passed   unanimously   both    Houses,  j 
February  fifth. 


44  COMMERCIAL    CONTENTION. 

ORDERED,  That  the  President  of  the  Senate  and  the  Speaker  of 
the  House  of  Representatives  be  requested  to  invite  the  delegates 
now  in  Convention  in  Boston  from  the  various  Boards  of  Trade  in 
the  chief  commercial  cities  of  the  Union,  to  visit  the  State  House  and 
be  introduced  to  the  members  of  the  two  branches  ;  and  that  a  Joint 
Committee  be  appointed  to  convey  the  invitation  to  the  Commercial 
Convention,  and  to  receive  their  answer ;  and  Messrs.  ScilOCLKR, 
CRANE,  and  TWEED  are  appointed  on  the  part  of  the  Senate. 

Sent  down  for  concurrence. 

S.  X.  GIFFOKD,  Clerk. 


HOUSE  OF  REPRESENTATIVES, 

February  5,  18C5. 

Concurred;  and  Messrs.  NASH,  of  Boston,  JACK.MAN,  of  Newbury- 
port,  TILTON,  of  Boston,  HOUSE,  of  Bolton,  SHERBURNE,  of  Charles- 
town,  BROWN,  of  Marblehead,  and  HUGHES,  of  Sumenille,  are 
joined. 

W.  S.  ROBINSON,  Clerk. 

In  performing  the  pleasant  duty  assigned  us,  we  would  express  not 
only  our  own  feelings,  but  those  of  every  member  of  the  Legislature 
of  Massachusetts,  when  we  express  the  hope  that  the  invitation  may 
be  accepted,  and  that  the  Senators  and  Representatives  of  this  ancient 
Commonwealth  may  have  the  honor  of  receiving  in  the  capitol  of  the 
State  the  distinguished  representatives  of  the  great  commercial  inter 
ests  of  the  nation. 

We  have  the  honor  to  be,  most  respectfully, 

Your  obedient  servants, 

GEO.  O.  BRASTOW, 

President  of  the  Senate. 

HARVEY  JEWELL, 

Speaker  House  of  Rep. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE,  of  New  York :  I  move  that  the  invita 
tion  be  accepted,  and  that  the  President  be  authorized  to  return  the 
thanks  of  the  Convention  ior  the  same,  and  to  speak  on  its  behalf  on 
the  occasion  of  the  visit. 

The  motion  was  adopted. 


THE    STANDING    COMMITTEES.  45 

The  PRESIDENT  :  The  !,«„,  ,,r  two  a,,,]  (l  illllf  0-,i.,ek, ,  „  Fri- 


the 

The  PRESIDENT  :   The  first  business  now  in  onk,-  is  to  hear 
the  nnnouncement  of  the  Standing  Committees. 

Mr.  McLAREX,  of  Mihvaukic  :     1  move  that  the  reading  of 

the  list  bo  dispensed  with. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER,  of  St.  Louis :  It  seems  to  me  that  the 

whole  Convention  should  know  the  members  of  the  several  Commit- 
tees.  Each  delegation  knows  its  own  members  upon  the  Committees 
but  does  not  know  the  members  from  other  delegations.  I  would 
like  myself  to  hear  who  are  upon  the  Committees  from  the  other  dele 
gations.  It  seems  to  me  that  the  best  plan  is  to  carry  out  the  resolu 
tion  passed  yesterday,  that  the  President  announce  the  Committees 
this  morning. 

The  motion  of  Mr.  MC-LAREX  was  lost,  and  one  of 
the  Secretaries  (Mr.  SAGE)  proceeded  to  read  the  lists 
of  the  Committees;  but  as  the  reports  of  several 
delegations  had  not  been  properly  classified,  the  read 
ing  was  suspended,  and,  on  motion  of  Mr.  NELSOX,  of 
Chicago,  the  Committees  had  leave  to  retire  for  the 
purpose  of  organization. 


*The  following-  is  a  copy  of  the  official  reply  sent  in  acceptance  of  the  invitation. 
NATIONAL  COMMEKCIAL  CONVENTION, 

BOSTON,  February  6,  1868. 

To  the  Hon.  GKORGE  O.  BRASTOW,  President  of  the  Senate,  and  the 
Hon.  HA  K  VE  Y  .JEWELL,  Speaker  of  the  House  of  Representative* 

of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts : 

GENTLEMEN,  —  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  in  In-half  of  the  Commercial 
Convention  your  communication  of  this  date,  received  by  a  Joint  Committee  of  lioth 
branches  of  the  Legislature,  in  which  you  convey  a  copy  of  the  Order  passed  yester 
day  by  your  honorable  bodies,  inviting  the  Convention  to  visit  the  State  House,  and 
to  be  introduced  to  the  members. 

I  beg  to  say  in  reply,  that  the  members  of  the  Convention  are  deeply  impressed 
with  the  courtesy  which  yon  have  thus  extended  to  them,  and  that  they  accept  the 
invitation  with  great  pleasure  and  cordiality. 

I  beg  further  to  say,  that  as  arranged  with  your  Committee,  the  Convention  will 
wait  upon  the  Legislature,  on  Friday,  the  7th  inst.,  at  half  past  two  o'clock,  i».  M. 
I  have  the  honor  to  subscril>e  myself,  Gentlemen, 
Your  obedk  nt  sen-ant, 

E.  W.  Fox,  Preside*  of  the  Coin-ention. 


46  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

Mr.  BRUNOT,  of  Pittsburgh,  offered  the  following 
resolution,  and  moved  its  reference  to  the  Committee 
on  Manufactures : 

Resolved*  That  in  view  of  the  probable  reduction  of  the  premium 
on  gold,  and  the  fact  that  a  return  to  specie  payment  will  be  equiva 
lent  to  a  reduction  of  the  duties  on  articles  of  foreign  production  to 
less  than  the  standard  required  by  revenue,  it  is  expedient  to  adopt 
a  sliding  scale  by  which  the  duties  on  foreign  productions  shall 
be  augmented  pari  passu  with  the  decline  of  the  gold  premium. 

The  resolution  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Manufactures. 

Mr.  BRYSON,  of  St.  Louis,  offered  the  following  reso 
lution  : 

Resolved,  That  all  communications  presented  shall  be  referred  to  the 
appropriate  Committees,  without  being  read.  (Cries  of  "  No,"  "No.") 

Mr.  BRTSON  :  Allow  me  to  make  an  explanation.  I  offer  the 
resolution  because  I  am  fully  aware  that  there  will  be  a  great  many 
communications  presented  to  this  body,  to  be  referred  to  the  appro 
priate  Committees.  Many  of  them  will  be  very  lengthy  ;  of  that  I 
am  fully  informed  ;  and  if  we  are  to  sit  here  and  hear  these  read  in 
full,  we  need  no  Committees  at  all.  We  shall  be  as  fully  prepared  to 
act  without  the  intervention  of  any  Committee  as  with  such  interven 
tion.  I  think  it  is  customary  and  usual  in  all  deliberative  assemblies 
to  have  such  communications  referred  by  reading  merely  the  title.  I 
know  it  is  customary  in  our  Legislature  and  in  Congress.  I  am 
afraid  we  shall  squander  our  time  by  reading  every  communication 
that  comes  before  us. 

Mr.  HATCH,  of  Buffalo:  I  think  the  gentleman  is  somewhat 
mistaken  in  his  views  of  the  facts.  I  think  it  is  usual  in  public 
bodies  to  have  the  communications  which  are  presented  rea'd,  but  the 
reading  can  be  dispensed  with  if  the  body  sees  fit.  We  may  desire 
to  hear  some  particular  communication  read,  and  I  think,  therefore,  it 
would  be  unwise  in  the  Convention  to  adopt  an  arbitrary  rule  on  the 
subject. 

The  question  was  then  put,  and  the  motion  of  Mr. 
BRYSON  was  lost. 


RESOLUTION  OX  GOLD  CONTRACTS.        47 

Mr.  BUZBY,  of  Philadelphia,  offered  the  following 
resolution : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  recommend  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  the  adoption  of  a  free  banking  law,  under  whose  pro 
visions  the  circulation  of  the  several  banks  shall  be  bused  on  the 
national  securities,  and  the  number  of  banks  and  amount  of  banking 
capital  be  regulated  by  the  natural  law  of  supply  and  demand,  the 
details  of  the  system  to  be  similar  to  those  controlling  the  administra 
tion  of  national  banks,  with  such  improvements  as  experience  has 
shown  to  be  necessary. 

Mr.  BUZBY  moved  a  reference  of  the  resolution  to 
the  Committee  on  Currency. 

Mr.  SLOANS,  of  Sandusky  :  It  seems  to  mo  that  the  resolu 
tion  is  not  in  order.  If  I  understand  the  call  of  this  Convention,  no 
questions  of  a  political  character  are  to  be  introduced.  (Laughter.) 

The  PRESIDENT  :  The  Chair  decides  that  the  resolution  is  in 
order. 

The  question  was  put,  and  the  resolution  was  refer 
red  in  accordance  with  the  motion  of  Mr.  BUZBY. 

Mr.  WARD,  of  Detroit,  presented  the  following  reso 
lution  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  be  and  hereby 
are  requested  to  pass  an  act  declaring  that  all  contracts  which  are 
specifically  made  payable  in  gold  or  gold  coin,  by  the  parties  thereto, 
shall  be  payable  in  gold,  according  to  the  tenor  of  the  same. 

The  PRESIDENT  :  To  what  Committee  does  the  gentleman 
desire  the  resolution  referred? 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  I  hope  that  the  resolution  will  not  be  sent 
to  a  Committee.  I  think  we  can  act  upon  it  without  a  reference. 

Mr.  WARD  :  I  move  that  it  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Currency. 

This  motion  was  adopted. 

Mr.  GANO :  I  move  that  the  name  of  the  Committee  on  Currency 
be  changed  to  the  Committee  on  Currency  and  Finance. 

Carried. 


48  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  LYONS,  of  Cleveland,  the  name  of 
the  Committee  on  the  Measurement  of  Grain  was 
changed  to  the  Committee  on  Weights  and  Measures. 

Mr.  CANBY,  of  Philadelphia  :  I  move  that  when  the  Con 
vention  adjourn,  it  be  to  meet  at  tour  o'clock  this  afternoon. 

An  amendment  was  offered  to  substitute  ten  o'clock 
to-morrow  morning  for  four  o'clock  this  afternoon. 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  I  have  the  honor  to  be  upon  the  Com 
mittee  on  the  establishment  of  a  National  Board  of  Trade,  and  we 
certainly  can  be  ready  to  report  upon  that  subject  this  afternoon. 

The  amendment  was  lost,  and  Mr.  CANBY'S  motion 
prevailed. 

Mr.  ATKINSON  offered  the  following  resolutions,  and 
moved  their  reference  to  the  Committee  on  Taxation, 
which  motion  was  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  no  revision  of  the  revenue  system  of  the  United 
States  can  be  considered  complete  which  does  not  involve  an  adjust 
ment  of  the  taxes  which  are  imposed  under  the  name  of  a  tariff  of 
duties  upon  impoits,  and  that  such  adjustment  should  be  made  for  the 
purpose  of  securing  the  largest  revenue  from  such  a  tariff  with  the 
least  injury  to  the  productive  power  of  the  people. 

Resolved,  That  in  such  adjustment  of  the  tariff  all  private  or 
special  legislation  should  be  avoided,  and  the  only  object  aimed  at 
should  be  the  public  good. 

The  Committee  on  the  Order  of  Business  was  then 
announced,  as  follows : 

COMMITTEE  ON  THE  ORDER  OF  BUSINESS. 

Charles  G.  Nazro,  Board  of  Trade,  Boston. 

William  S.  Pre.-ton,  Board  of  Trade,  Albany. 

N.  G.  Hichborn,  Maine  Shipbuilders'  Asso'n,  Augusta. 

William  D.  Sewall,  Board  of  Trade,  Bath. 

Avery  Plumer,  Corn  Exchange,  Boston. 

Elmore  II.  Walker,  Board  of  Trade,  Buffalo. 

Ira  Y.  Munn,  Board  of  Trade,  Chicago. 

A.  T.  Goshorn,  Chamber  of  Commerce,  Cincinnati. 

Philo  Chamberlin,  Board  of  Trade,  Cleveland. 


CHANGE    OF   TIME   OF   MEETING. 


Moses  W.  Field, 
George  A.  Owen, 
W.  P.  McLaren, 
J.  S.  T.  Stranahan, 
W.  W.  Wickes, 

D.  W.  C.  Brown, 
F.  B.  Lathrop, 

E.  A.  Souder, 
S.  L.  Ward. 
George  H.  Thurston, 
T.  C.  Hersey, 

C.  A.  Ropes, 
Rush  R.  Sloane, 
Alfred  DeWitt, 
James  P.  Fiske, 
William  Wallace, 
James  W.  Taylor, 
E.  W.  Harris, 
Charles  Eddy, 
Francis  Barry, 


49 


Board  of  Trade, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Chamber  of  Commerce, 
Chamber  of  Commerce. 
Produce  Exchange, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Commercial  Exchange, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Chamber  of  Commerce, 
Board  of  Trade, 

K-fK.    jLjvsuia. 

Union  Merchants'  Exchange,  St.  Louis. 
Board  of  Trade,  St.  Paul. 

Board  of  Trade,  Toledo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Troy. 

Board  of  Trade,  Wilmington 


Detroit. 

Louisville. 

Mihvaukie. 

New  York. 

New  York. 

Ogdensburgh. 

Oswego. 

Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia. 

Pittsburgh. 

Portland. 

Salem. 

San  dusky. 

San  Francisco. 

St.  Louis. 


Mr.  WARD,  Of  Boston:   Although  a  motion  has  been  passed 
with  regard  to  the  adjournment,  fixing  the  hour  of  meeting  at  four 
o'clock,  this  afternoon,  I  wish  to  make  a  suggestion  in  regard  to  that 
matter.     Here  are  seven  Committees,  consisting  of  some  thirty-five 
members  each,  thus  taking  about  the  whole  of  this  Convention.    Now, 
let  us   suppose   that  one-half  of  these  Committees  shall  be  ready  to 
report  at  four  o'clock,  the  other  half  will  be  engaged  upon  their  work, 
and  therefore,  if  we  meet  at  four  o'clock,  we  shall  probably  have  not 
more  than  half  our  number.     I  am  sorry  that  it  is  so,  but  the  system 
which  has  been  adopted  of  forming  the  Committees  by  the  selection 
of  one  member  from  each  delegation,  absolutely  necessitates  either 
our  meeting  with  but  a  small  portion  of  our  members,  or  an  adjourn 
ment  until  all  the  Committees  shall  have  substantially  completed  their 
labors.    I  suggest,  therefore,  whether  it  would  not  be  better  to  adjourn 
over  until  to-morrow  morning,  at  ten  o'clock.     I  will  move  a  recon 
sideration  of  the  vote  whereby  the   Convention   voted  to  meet  this 
afternoon,  at  four  o'clock. 

The  motion  was  carried,  and  Mr.  WARD  then  moved 
that  the  Convention,  when  it  adjourn,  adjourn  until  ten 
o'clock,  to-morrow  morning.  The  motion  was  adopted. 


50 


COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 


The    Standing    Committees  were  then  announced, 
as  follows :  * 


COMMITTEE  ON  CURRENCY  AND  FINANCE. 


Frederick  Fraley, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Philadelphia. 

Frank  Chamberlain, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Albany. 

N.  G.  Hichborn, 

Maine  Shipbuilders'  Asso'n, 

Augusta. 

B.  C.  Bailey, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Bath. 

William  Endicott,  Jr., 

Board  of  Trade, 

Boston. 

Samuel  G.  Bowdlear, 

Corn  Exchange, 

Boston. 

E.  P.  Dorr, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Buffalo. 

R.  McChesney, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Chicago. 

James  Espy, 

Chamber  of  Commerce, 

Cincinnati. 

A.  Hughes, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Cleveland. 

Moses  W.  Field, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Detroit. 

H.  Lovvry, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Dubuque. 

W.  W.  Alcott, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Kalamazoo. 

John  Tait, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Louisville. 

P.  D.  Armour, 

Chamber  of  Commerce, 

Mihvaukie. 

John  A.  Stevens,  Jr., 

Chamber  of  Commerce, 

New  York. 

William  Blanchard, 

Produce  Exchange, 

New  York. 

O.  C.  Lee, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Ogdensburgh. 

George  B.  Sloan, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Oswego. 

George  L.  Buzby, 

Commercial  Exchange,        * 

Philadelphia. 

George  W.  Cass, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Pittsburgh. 

A.  K.  Shurtleff, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Portland. 

Rush  R.  Sloane, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Sandusky. 

Alfred  DeWitt, 

Chamber  of  Commerce, 

San  Francisco. 

George  Co  ray, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Scran  ton. 

John  R.  Lionberger, 

Board  of  Trade, 

St.  Louis. 

M.  L.  Pottle, 

Union  Merchants'  Exchange,  St.  Louis. 

Russell  Blakely, 

Board  of  Trade, 

St.  Paul. 

George  W.  Davis, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Toledo. 

Thomas  Coleman, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Troy. 

Edward  Betts, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Wilmington. 

*  The  Chairmen  of  these  Committees  were  chosen  by  the  Committees  respec 
tively  ;  their  names  are  placed  first  in  the  text,  for  convenience  of  reference. 


STANDING    COMMITTEES. 


51 


COMMITTEE  ON  TAXATION. 


Erastus  B.  Bigelpw, 
William  H.  Taylor, 

B.  C.  Bailey, 
Edmund  W.  Clap, 
Israel  T.  Hatch, 
Murray  Nelson, 
William  Resor, 

J.  H.  Clark, 

E.  B.  Ward, 
Julius  Dora, 
John  Bradford, 
Martin  Bates,  Jr., 
Isaac  H.  Reed, 
D.  W.  C.  Brown, 

F.  B.  Lathrop, 
Henry  Winsor, 
H.  S.  Hannis, 
D.  McCandless, 
Woodbury  S.  Dana, 
Washington  Ryan, 
Rush  R.  Sloane, 
Moses  Ellis, 
Martin  Collins, 
Nathan  Cole, 
James  W.  Taylor, 

C.  A.  King, 
Charles  Eddy, 
John  H.  Adams, 


Board  of  Trade,  Boston. 

Board  of  Trade,  Albany. 

Board  of  Trade,  Bath. 

Corn  Exchange,  Boston. 

Board  of  Trade,  Buffalo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Chicago. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  Cincinnati. 

Board  of  Trade,  Cleveland. 

Board  of  Trade,  Detroit. 

Board  of  Trade,  Louisville. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  Mihvaukie. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  New  York. 

Produce  Exchange,  New  York. 

Board  of  Trade,  Ogdensburgh. 

Board  of  Trade,  Oswego. 

Board  of  Trade,  Philadelphia. 

Commercial  Exchange,  Philadelphia. 

Board  of  Trade,  Pittsburgh. 

Board  of  Trade,  Portland. 
Maine  Shipbuilders'  Asso'n,  Portland. 

Board  of  Trade,  Sandusky. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  San  Francisco. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Louis. 
Union  Merchants'  Exchange,  St.  Louis. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Paul. 

Board  of  Trade,  Toledo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Troy. 

Board  of  Trade,  Wilmington. 


COMMITTEE  ON  INLAND  COMMUNICATION 
AND    TRANSPORTATION. 


Edward  D.  Holton, 
James  McMartin, 
B.  C.  Bailey, 
Solomon  R.  Spaulding, 
Harrison  E.  Maynard, 
Elmore  H.  Walker, 
John  C.  Dore, 
S.  Lester  Taylor, 
Philo  Chamberlin, 
Edmund  Trowbrid^e, 


Chamber  of  Commerce,  Milwaukie. 

Board  of  Trade,  Albany. 

Board  of  Trade,  Bath. 

Board  of  Trade,  Boston. 

Corn  Exchange,  Boston. 

Board  of  Trade,  Buffalo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Chicago. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  Cincinnati. 

Board  of  Trade,  Cleveland. 

Board  of  Trade,  Detroit. 


52 


COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 


W.  W.  Alcott, 
J.  J.  Porter, 
L.  J.  N.  Stark, 
Paul  Worth, 
George  A.  Eddy, 
]).  G.  Fort, 
Samuel  T.  Canby, 
Robert  Ervein, 
C.  B.  Herron, 
Samuel  J.  Anderson, 
Washington  Ryan, 
W.  P.  Phillips, 
Rush  R.  Sloane, 
M.  A.  Bryson, 
George  Pegram, 
James  W.  Taylor, 
William  T.  Walker, 
Perry  E.  Toles, 
E.  T.  Warner,  Jr., 


Board  of  Trade,  Kalamazoo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Louisville. 
Chamber  of  Commerce,        '  New  York. 

Produce  Exchange,  New  York. 

Board  of  Trade,  Ogdensburgh. 

Board  of  Trade,  Oswego. 

Board  of  Trade,  Philadelphia. 

Commercial  Exchange,  Philadelphia. 

Board  of  Trade,  Pittsburgh. 

Board  of  Trade,  Portland. 
Maine  Shipbuilders'  Asso'n,  Portland. 

Board  of  Trade,  Salem. 

Board  of  Trade,  Sandusky. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Louis. 
Union  Merchants'  Exchange,  St.  Louis. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Paul. 

Board  of  Trade,  Toledo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Troy. 

Board  of  Trade,  Wilmington. 


COMMITTEE  ON  FOREIGN  AND  DOMESTIC 
COMMERCE. 


Edward  S.  Tobey, 
James  McMartin, 
N.  G.  Hichborn, 
William  D.  Sewall, 
Avery  Plumer, 
Israel  T.  Hatch, 
B.  F.  Culver, 
Robert  Hosea, 
A.  Hughes, 
George  B.  Dickinson, 
John  B.  Green, 
M.  B.  Medbery, 
S.  D.  Babcock, 
John  H.  Boynton, 
D.  W.  C.  Brown, 
D.  G.  Fort, 
George  N.  Tatham, 
Seneca  E.  Malone, 
Felix  R.  Brunot, 
M.  N.  Rich, 


Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Maine  Shipbuilders'  Asso'n, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Corn  Exchange, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Chamber  of  Commerce, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Chamber  of  Commerce, 

Chamber  of  Commerce, 

Produce  Exchange, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Commercial  Exchange, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 


Boston. 

Albany. 

Augusta. 

Bath. 

Boston. 

Buffalo. 

Chicago. 

Cincinnati. 

Cleveland. 

Detroit. 

Louisville. 

Mihvaukie. 

New  York. 

New  York. 

Ogdensburgh. 

Oswego. 

Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia. 

Pittsburgh. 

Portland. 


STANDING    COMMITTEES. 


53 


John  C.  Osgood, 
N.  W.  Warne, 
W.  W.  Sanford, 
Joseph  A.  Wheelock, 
John  B.  Carson, 
James  Forsyth, 
Francis  Barry, 


Board  of  Trade,  Salem. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Louis. 
Union  Merchants'  Exchange,  St.  Louis. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Paul. 

Board  of  Trade,  Toledo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Troy. 

Board  of  Trade,  Wilmington. 


COMMITTEE  ON  AGRICULTURE  AND 
MANUFACTURES. 


James  I.  Bennett, 
William  H.  Taylor, 
William  D.  Sewall, 
George  L.  Ward, 
Calvin  M.  Winch, 
Elmore  H.  Walker, 
E.  W.  Blatchford, 
Henry  Pearce, 
R.  T.  Lyon, 
Thomas  McGraw, 
George  A.  Owen, 
James  S'  Peck, 
J.  S.  T.  Stranahan, 
A.  II.  Philips, 
W.  L.  Proctor, 
A.  H.  Failing, 
Thomas  Potter, 
Philip  B.  Mingle, 
George  W.  Woodman, 
J.  O.  Safford, 
W.  H.  Pulsifer, 
A.  W.  Fagin, 
Russell  Blakely, 
R.  Cummings, 
Charles  Eddy, 
Samuel  Bancroft,  Jr., 


Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Corn  Exchange, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Chamber  of  Commerce, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Chamber  of  Commerce, 

Chamber  of  Commerce, 

Produce  Exchange, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Commercial  Exchange, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Union  Merchants'  Exchange, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 

Board  of  Trade, 


Pittsburgh. 

Albany. 

Bath. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Buffalo. 

Chicago. 

Cincinnati. 

Cleveland. 

Detroit. 

Louisville. 

Milwaukie. 

New  York. 

New  York. 

Ogdensburgh, 

OaWCgO. 

Philadelphia. 

Philadelphia. 

Portland. 

Salem. 

St.  Louis. 

St.  Louis. 

St.  Paul. 

Toledo. 

Troy. 

Wilmington. 


COMMITTEE  ON  A  NATIONAL  CHAMBER  OF 
COMMERCE. 


Hiram  Walbridge, 
William  S.  Preston, 


Chamber  of  Commerce, 
Board  of  Trade, 


New  York. 
Albany. 


54 


COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 


William  D.  Sewall, 
T.  J.  Stewart, 
Joseph  S.  Ropes, 
T.  Albert  Taylor, 
P.  S.  Marsh, 
W.  II.  Low, 
John  A.  Gano, 
J.  H.  Clark, 
George  F.  Bagley, 
H.  Lowiy, 
J.  J.  Porter, 
AV.  P.  McLaren, 
W.  H.  Harris, 
O.  C.  Lee, 
A.  H.  Failing, 
John  P.  Wetherill, 
John  H.  Michener, 
George  H.  Thurston, 
T.  C.  Hersey, 
W.  J.  Dill, 
J.  H.  Britton, 
H.  C.  Yaeger, 
Joseph  A.  Wheelock, 
M.  D.  Carrington, 
Thomas  A.  Tillinghast, 
George  G.  Lobdell, 


Board  of  Trade,  Bath. 
Maine  Shipbuilders'  Asso'n,  Bangor. 

Board  of  Trade,  Boston. 

Corn  Exchange,  Boston. 

Board  of  Trade,  Buffalo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Chicago. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  Cincinnati. 

Board  of  Trade,  Cleveland. 

Board  of  Trade,  Detroit. 

Produce  Exchange,  Dubuque. 

Board  of  Trade,  Louisville. 

Chamber  of  Commerce,  Milwaukie. 

Produce  Exchange,  New  York. 

Board  of  Trade,  Ogdensburgh. 

Board  of  Trade,  Oswego. 

Board  of  Trade,  Philadelphia. 

Commercial  Exchange,  Philadelphia. 

Board  of  Trade,  Pittsburgh. 

Board  of  Trade,  Portland. 

Board  of  Trade,  Sandusky. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Louis. 
Union  Merchants'  Exchange,  St.  Louis. 

Board  of  Trade,  St.  Paul. 

Board  of  Trade,  Toledo. 

Board  of  Trade,  Troy. 

Board  of  Trade,  Wilmington. 


COMMITTEE  ON  WEIGHTS  AND  MEASURES. 


C.  J.  Hoffman, 
A.  K.  Shepard, 
T.  J.  Stewart, 
Charles  G.  Nazro, 
Otis  Munroe, 
Jason  Parker, 
T.  P.  Lawrence, 
Thomas  II.  Foulds, 
R.  T.  Lyon, 
H.  J.  Buckley, 
H.  Lowry, 
Julius  Dorn, 
C.  Holland, 


Commercial  Exchange, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Maine  Shipbuilders'  Asso'n, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Corn  Exchange, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Chamber  of  Commerce, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Produce  Exchange, 
Board  of  Trade, 
Chamber  of  Commerce, 


Philadelphia. 

Albany. 

Bangor. 

Boston. 

Boston. 

Buffalo. 

Chicago. 

Cincinnati. 

Cleveland. 

Detroit. 

Dubuque. 

Louisville. 

Milwaukie. 


PROPOSITION  TO  PRIXT  SPEECHES. 


55 


William  H   Guion,  Chamber  of  Commerce,  New  York. 

J.  Hobart  Hernck,  Induce  Exchange,  ^ 

W.  L      roctor,  Board  of  Trade,  Ogdensburgl, 

Board  of  Trade' 


r        x  AH  ' 

George  *    Allen,  Board  of  Trade,  Philahia. 


, 

George  W.  Hadman,       Board  of  Trade,  il 

Charles  H.  Haskell,          Board  of  Trade,  portlant[ 

W    T'  ?vneS'  Board  °f  Trade'  Salem. 

W.J.DI11,  Board  of  Trade,  Sandusky. 

w  ^'wu  *'  B°ard  °f  Trade'  St-  L°™- 

H.  R.  \V  hitmore,  Union  Merchants'  Exchange,  St.  Louis. 

Russell  Blakely,  Board  of  Trade,  St.  Paul. 

Frederick  Bissell,  Board  of  Trade,  Toledo.  ' 

Thomas  A.  Tillinghast,  Board  of  Trade,  Troy 

George  G.  Lobdell,  Board  of  Trade,  Wilmington. 

Mr.  WALBEIDGE  :  I  ask  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Conven 
tion  to  print  a  speech  which  I  have  prepared,  upon  the  subject  of 
inland  transportation. 

No  objection  was  made,  and  the  Chair  stated  that 
leave  was  granted. 

A  gentleman  of  Detroit  read  a  despatch  from  Mr. 
H.  E.  SARGENT,  General  Agent  of  the  Michigan  Central 
Railroad,  tendering  the  Western  members  a  free  pas 
sage  home  over  the  several  lines  connecting  with  the 
Eastern  roads  at  Suspension  Bridge  and  Buffalo. 

Mr.  SLOANE,  of  Sandusky  :  Yesterday  we  adopted  a  rule 
limiting  speakers  to  ten  minutes,  but  we  have  just  granted  Mr. 
WALBRIDGE  leave  to  print  his  speech  ;  we  do  not  know  the  subject 
of  it,  nor  how  extended  it  may  be.  It  may  be  a  most  brilliant  speech  — 
I  have  no  doubt  it  is  —  almost  every  thing  is  that  emanates  from  the 
distinguished  gentleman  who  has  made  the  request  ;  but  I  object  to 
it  at  this  stage  of  the  proceedings,  as  conflicting  with  the  rule  which 
we  have  adopted,  limiting  speeches  to  ten  minutes. 

Several  voices  :   The  objection  is  too  late. 

Mr.  SLOAXE  :  The  Convention  has  established  a  rule,  that  no 
member  shall  be  permitted  to  discuss  any  subject  before  the  Conven 
tion  for  its  consideration,  more  than  ten  minutes.  Now,  here  is  u 
request  made  by  the  gentleman  from  New  York,  that  he  have  leave 
to  print  a  speech  which  otherwise  he  would  deliver  to  this  Convention. 


56  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

As  a  member  of  this  Convention,  I  am  not  willing  to  allow  any  re 
marks  to  be  printed,  until  I  know  at  least  the  subject  to  which  those 
remarks  relate.  You  have  limited  the  time  that  gentlemen  can  oc%cupy 
in  addressing  the  house  to  ten  minutes ;  the  gentleman's  speech  may 
occupy  an  hour. 

Mr.  HATCH,  of  Buffalo  :  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  I  do  not 
understand  that  there  is  any  motion  before  the  Convention. 

Mr.  WARD,  of  Boston  :  I  move  that  the  rule  which  limits 
speakers  to  ten  minutes  be  repealed.  (Cries  of"  No,"  "No.") 

Mr.  SLOANE  :   I  move  a  reconsideration  of  the  vote. 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  It  strikes  me  the  gentleman  is  out  of  order. 
I  do  not  know  how  he  voted ;  but  I  know  he  objects. 

TllG  PRESIDENT  :  There  was  no  formal  vote.  No  objection  was 
made,  and  the  Chair  stated  that  the  request  was  granted  by  unanimous 
consent. 

Mr.  BARNUM,  of  Oregon  :  I  move  that  every  member  of  the 
Convention  have  the  same  privilege  which  has  been  granted  to  the 
gentleman  from  New  York.  I  make  the  motion  to  enable  the  gentle 
man  from  Ohio  to  proceed,  but  I  shall  vote  against  it. 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  I  move  to  amend,  by  adding,  "  and  assess 
the  expense  thereof  upon  each  delegation." 

Mr.  SLOANE  :  There  is  something  more  in  this  question  than 
the  mere  granting  of  the  privilege  to  print  a  written  speech. 

Mr.  HATCH,  (interrupting:)    I  rise  to  a  point  of  order. 

After  the  Convention  has  given  unanimous  consent  to  the  gentleman 
to  write  out  his  speech,  I  think  we  cannot  reconsider  the  motion. 

Mr.  BARNUM  :  I  am  satisfied  that  the  gentleman  will  make  a 
very  able  and  eloquent  address,  but  when  I  consider  the  results  to 
which  it  will  lead,  I  deprecate  the  granting  of  his  request.  I  know 
the  gentleman  is  an  eloquent  man,  but  this  Convention  has  met  for 
the  purpose  of  transacting  business.  It  passed  a  rule  that  debate  be 
limited  to  ten  minutes,  in  order  that  the  time  might  not  be  occupied  with 
spread-eagle  speeches,  but  with  short  business  speeches.  (Applause.) 
I  propose  to  cast  no  reflections  upon  the  gentleman  for  his  request, 
but  there  are  other  gentlemen  in  this  Convention  who,  I  have  no 
doubt,  could  spread  upon  the  printed  record  of  the  proceedings  as 
able  and  eloquent  speeches  as  the  gentleman  from  New  York.  I  hope 
that  the  resolution  which  I  have  made  will  be  voted  down  ;  I  made  it 
for  that  purpose ;  and  I  hope  that  it  may  carry  with  it  a  withdrawal 
of  the  request  of  the  gentleman  from  New  York. 


PROPOSITION    TO    PRIXT    SPEECHES.  57 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  The  reason  for  making  the  request  was,  that 
at  the  Convention  at  Detroit,  when  we  found  ourselves  pressed  for 
time,  that  rule  was  adopted.  The  speech  relates  to  the  transportation 
)f  freight  through  the  country,  and  embraces  a  great  many  facts  and 
figures,  with  whidi  I  did  not  wish  to  bore  the  Convention.  If  I  had 
proposed  to  make  an  eloquent  speech,  I  should  not  have  made  the 
request,  for  I  trust  I  can  speak  without  committing  my  speech  to 
paper.  I  have  given  a  great  deal  of  care  and  attention  to  the  subject, 
and  I  thought  the  facts  could  be  spread  before  the  community  in  this 
way.  That  is  the  only  reason  for  my  making  the  request.  I  hope 
other  gentlemen  will  have  the  same  privilege,  if  they  desire  it. 

Mr.  McClIESNEY,  of  Chicago  :  I  presume  that  Mr.  WAL 
BRIDGE  can  take  the  same  course  that  Mr.  WARD,  of  Detroit,  lias 
done,  and  publish  his  speech  at  his  own  expense.  I  object  to  any 
speech  being  printed  without  knowing  what  it  is,  and  without  an 
opportunity  to  have  it  answered. 

Mr.  STRAXAHAX,  of  New  York  :  Gentlemen  do  not  seem 
to  understand  the  facts  of  the  case.  The  speech  which  Mr.  WAL 
BRIDGE  proposed  to  make  is  upon  the  desk  of  the  Secretaries,  and  it 
is  a*  much  beyond  the  power  of  this  house  to  take  it  back,  as  it  would 
be  if  he  had  made  his  speech  without  committing  it  to  paper.  You 
cannot  recall  it.  One  word  more.  If  any  gentleman  has  a  speech 
prepared,  and  is  ready  to  put  it  upon  the  table,  I  say,  let  him  present 
it.  And  I  say  one  thing  further:  it  is  a  very  cheap  way  of  getting 
rid  of  long  speeches  and  long  speech-makers. 

Mr.  BARIUM  :  I  will  withdraw  my  motion,  if  some  gentleman 
will  make  a  motion  to  refer  that  speech  to  the  appropriate  Committee. 

The  PKESIDENT  :  If  the  object  is  to  take  the  speech  out  of  the 
business  record  of  the  Convention,  it  cannot  be  done  by  the  motion  of 
the  gentleman  from  Ohio. 

Mr.  SLOAXE  :  Then  I  will  withdraw  my  motion,  and  second  the 
motion  of  the  gentleman  from  Oregon.  If  this  privilege  is  to  be  con 
ceded  to  the  able  gentleman  from  New  York,  I  ask  that  every  gentle 
man  upon  this  floor  may  have  the  same  privilege.  There  are  other 
questions  to  be  considered  here  of  vital  importance,  as  well  as  the 
question  of  inland  transportation  which  the  gentleman  discusses. 

Mr.  BAKXUM'S  motion  did  not  prevail. 


58  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

REMARKS  OF  THE  HON.  HIRAM  WALBRIDGE, 

OF    NEW    YOKK. 

Mu.  PRESIDENT,  AND  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTION  : 

The  subject  of  intercommunication  by  internal  improvements,  so  as 
to  bring  the  interests  of  all  sections  of  the  United  States  into  closer 
and  cheaper  connection  in  trade  and  travel,  has  been  justly  presented 
to  the  American  people  as  one  of  the  most  important  matters  that  can 
occupy  the  consideration  of  a  National  Convention  like  this  which  is 
here  assembled  —  composed  of  delegations  representing  the  views 
and  interests  of  Boards  of  Trade  and  Chambers  of  Commerce  located 
in  most  of  the  prominent  cities  of  the  Union. 

As  the  supply  and  value  of  nearly  every  article  of  necessity  and 
luxury  are  affected  by  the  means  and  cost  of  transportation,  and  as 
the  productions  of  some  sections,  like  the  farming  products  of  the 
great  West,  are  largely  excluded  from  the  Atlantic  markets,  while 
various  articles  of  the  seaboard  are  similarly  debarred  from  profitable 
distribution  through  the  interior  States,  the  interests  of  every  section 
of  society  and  of  the  country  are  directly  connected  with  and 
essentially  affected  by  this  branch  of  our  inquiries. 

RAILWAYS    AND    WATER-COURSES. 

The  natural  and  artificial  water-ways  on  the  main  routes  of  trade  — 
embracing  the  great  lakes  and  rivers,  and  the  canals  connecting  those 
waters  with  each  other  as  well  as  with  the  Atlantic  —  certainly  deserve 
and  should  receive  ample  and  enduring  consideration.  They  should 
be  fostered  always  as  matters  of  increasing  national  importance  in  all 
the  connections  of  peace  and  war.  Every  practicable  facility  should 
be  afforded  for  improving  existing  connections  in  our  inland  navigation, 
and  also  for  making  additional  connections  wherever  required,  as  for 
instance  at  Niagara  Falls,  and  between  the  Mississippi  and  Lake 
Michigan,  for  enabling  vessels  to  traverse  freely  all  practicable  routes 
of  water  communication  between  the  seaboard  and  the  regions  tribu 
tary  to  our  great  lakes  and  rivers. 

But  it  is  nowise  derogatory  to  the  importance  of  our  internal  navi 
gation  to  say  that  the  subject  of  improving  the  means  and  cheapening 
the  cost  of  trade  and  travel  over  our  railway  system  is  worthy  of  at 
least  equal  consideration  —  especially  when  we  consider  that  some  of 
the  proposed  improvements  in  railway  management  may  render  the 
existing  tracks  vastly  more  efficient  in  promoting  the  rapid  and  steady 


Mtt.    WALBRIDGE'S    SPEECH.  59 

interchange  of  commodities  between  different  sections,  and  at  the 
same  time  largely  reducing  the  cost  of  transportation  while  essen 
tially  promoting  the  legimitate  interests  of  railway  stockholders. 

Still  more  important  must  the  railway  question  appear,  when  we 
reflect  on  the  fact  that  railroads  are  fitted  to  meet  the  wants  of  broad 
regions  that  are  either  meagrely  supplied  with,  or  wholly  deficient  in, 
the  navigable  facilities  of  lakes,  rivers  and  canals  —  like  most  of  that 
largest  division  of  the  Union  lying  between  the  Mississippi  and  the 
Pacific  Ocean. 

When,  in  this  connection,  it  is  also  considered  that  the  railways 
already  constructed  extend  nearly  forty  thousand  miles,  and  that  the 
wants  of  rapidly  increasing  settlements,  especially  between  the  Missis 
sippi  and  the  Pacific,  will  soon  require  double  that  amount  of  railway 
accommodation,  it  may  readily  be  conceded  that  no  one  interest  in  the 
nation  deserves  more  prompt,  careful  and  persevering  attention  from 
all  classes  of  the  business  community  —  from  the  farmer,  the  me 
chanic,  the  manufacturer  —  from  the  merchant,  the  miner,  the  trader 
—  and  also  from  faithful  legislators  and  practical  statesmen. 

As  the  price  of  almost  every  article  of  trade  and  commerce  is 
dependent  on  the  cost  of  transportation,  and  as  the  railways  must 
always  furnish  the  greatest  means  of  transit  between  the  widest 
extent  of  country,  —  vast  portions  of  which  lie  far  beyond  reach  of 
canals,  rivers  or  lakes,  and  far  distant  from  seacoasts  —  the  question 
of  railroad  improvement  is  therefore  most  eminently  national,  and 
thus  falls  within  the  powers  constitutionally  vested  exclusively  in  the 
National  Government  for  regulating  trade  and  commerce  between 
the  American  people  in  their  various  localities,  as  well  as  between 
them  and  foreign  nations.  Hence  the  great  and  peculiar  importance 
of  the  movement  now  made  to  procure  national  legislation  concerning 
the  regulation  of  the  railway  system,  which  thus  directly  or  indirectly 
concerns  the  welfare  of  every  human  being  dwelling  on  American 
soil. 

PROPOSED    NATIONAL    RAILROAD    SYSTEM. 

The  consideration  of  the  railroad  question  is  not  merely  optional 
with  this  Convention.  It  is  measurably  compulsory  on  us,  as  repre 
sentatives  of  a  large  portion  cf  the  men  engaged  in  the  trade  and 
commerce  of  the  United  States.  The  fact  that  public  sentiment  is 
now  strongly  turned  upon  questions  of  railway  reform  and  improve- 
ment  — that  three  national  railroad  bills  have  been  brought  before 
Congress  by  senators  from  different  regions  — that  a  National  Rail 
way  Reform  League  has  obtained  auxiliaries  all  through  the  United 


60  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

StMtrs  —  and  that  a  large  portion  of  the  members  of  both  branches  of 
Congress  and  the  governors  of  several  States  have  publicly  avowed 
their  opinions  on  the  subject  —  indicates  the  degree  of  importance 
attached  to  the  subject  of  immediate  and  thorough  reformation  in  the 
railway  system.  All  these  and  many  other  considerations,  it  is  re 
peated,  render  it  not  merely  optional,  but  absolutely  obligatory  on 
this  National  Convention  to  meet  the  question  promptly,  to  discuss  it 
fully,  and  to  express  such  opinions  concerning  it  as  the  intrinsic 
greatness  of  the  subject  and  the  peculiar  circumstances  of  the  times 
imperatively  demand. 

The  fact  that  the  subject  of  "  internal  improvement  "  is  justly  set 
forth  as  the  primary  object  for  consideration  in  the  published  call  for 
this  Convention,  is  in  itself  sufficient  to  justify  and  require  that  our 
earliest  attention  shall  be  paid  to  this  great  question,  which  concerns 
the  people  and  the  public  interests,  as  well  as  the  interests  of  railroad 
companies,  in  every  section  of  the  United  States. 

On  the  ground  of  nationality  and  far-reaching  consequences,  the 
action  upon  railroad  policy  must  and  will  form  one  of  the  strongest 
characteristics  of  the  National  Commercial  Convention  now  assembled 
to  consider  the  interests  of  the  community  generally  in  connection 
with  the  means  and  cost  of  intercommunication  for  freight  and  travel 
through  all  jwrtions  of  our  wide-spread  States  and  Territories. 

NECESSITIES    OF    THE    INTERIOR    REGIONS. 

The  rapid  extension  of  settlements  through  all  portions  of  the  new 
regions,  especially  through  the  country  between  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Pacific,  renders  railroad  reform  peculiarly  important  at  the 
present  time.  We  have  now  reached  a  point  where  public  experience 
connected  with  the  railways  may  be  most  profitably  employed,  not 
only  in  reforming  evils  on  the  present  lines,  but  also  in  guiding  the 
construction  and  management  of  the  new  railways  required  to  facili 
tate  intercourse  between  the  interior  regions  and  the  older  settlements. 
The  immense  regions  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific,  re 
markable  as  are  their  features  in  other  respects,  are  not  less  remark 
able  for  the  scantiness  of  navigable  facilities  compared  with  the 
country  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic.  The  map  of 
the  United  States  is  in  nothing  more  remarkable  than  in  this  im 
portant  feature  ;  and  the  lesson  it  teaches  is  pregnant  with  admonition 
concerning  the  proper  organization  of  the  railroad  system,  so  that  the 
benefits  of  that  system  may  produce  the  greatest  good  to  the  greatest 
number  of  the  American  people,  now  and  through  all  time.  For 
reasons  connected  with  the  geographical  condition  of  the  territory 


MR.    WALBIUDGE'S    SPEECH.  61 

west  of  the  Mississippi,  therefore,  as  well  as  for  the  greater  extent  of 
that  region  as  compared  with  the  territory  between  the  Mississippi 
and  the  Atlantic,  the  former  has  necessities  for  railway  facilities  even 
greater  than  the  latter. 

COMMERCE    OF    EUROPE    AND    ASIA. 

Superadded  to  these  considerations  are  the  circumstances  in  which 
our  country  is  placed  concerning  the  prospective  trade  and  travel 
across  this  continent  connected  with  the  intercourse  between  Europe 
and  Asia,  which  we  all  hope  to  see  flowing  ere  long  across  the  United 
States.  Cheapness  and  regularity  of  transportation  are  indispensable 
for  such  a  world-wide  trade.  In  this  view  alone,  the  railroad  question 
assumes  immense  importance.  The  railway  organization  required 
for  this  single  purpose  would  form  one  of  the  noblest  objects  for  com 
mercial  enterprise,  for  practical  statesmanship,  and  for  enlightened 
legislation.  Attention  cannot  be  too  early  or  too  earnestly  directed 
towards  this  prominent  feature  in  the  world's  commercial  necessities. 

The  completion  of  a  single-track  railroad  to  the  Pacific,  for  which 
we  all  look  anxiously  in  the  year  1870,  —  remarkable  as  that  event 
will  be  in  the  history  of  these  times,  —  will  probably  be  equally  re 
markable  for  its  effect  in  arousing  public  attention  to  the  insufficiency 
of  that  enterprise,  and  to  the  necessity  of  greater  exertions  somewhat 
commensurate  with  the  commercial  necessities  which  that  solitary 
single-track  will  signally  fail  of  supplying. 

GREAT    RAILWAYS    ACROSS    THE    CONTINENT. 

Even  for  the  local  accommodation  of  the  rapidly  increasing  popu 
lation  in  different  sections  of  the  regions  between  the  Mississippi  and 
the  Pacific,  three  great  double-track  east-and-west  railways  would  not 
be  more  than  sufficient  to  meet  the  necessities  of  the  Southern,  Central 
and  Northern  portions  of  that  vast  expanse,  as  those  necessities  will 
exist  in  1870  when  the  solitary  single-track  shall  be  completed  on  the 
Central  route.  And  in  constructing  and  organizing  those  several 
roads,  the  importance  of  providing  ere  long  for  four  tracks  on  each 
route  should  be  promptly  considered  —  so  that  the  ponderous  matters 
of  trade  and  commerce  on  each  route  could  flow  to  and  fro  over  one 
double-track,  while  the  other  double-track  should  be  appropriated  to 
passengers,  mails  and  expresses,  and  such  costly  freight  as  could 
afford  To  pay  high  charges  for  rapid  transit. 

The  single-track  road  now  rushing  towards  comple 
will  indeed  form  a  remarkable  feature  in  the  history  of  American 
pro-re^;  but  it  is  nowise  derogatory  to  its  importance  to  say  that,  » 


62  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

view  of  the  vastness  of  the  field  and  the  requirements  of  commerce 
and  travel,  that  solitary  single-track,  from  which  so  many  people 
expect  so  much,  is  comparatively  what  a  California  statesman  pro 
nounced  it  to  be,  —  "A  mere  pismire's  track,  compared  with  the 
extensive  railway  facilities  required  even  now  for  trade  and  travel 
across  this  continent." 

All  the  great  double-track  railroads  of  the  Atlantic  regions 
are  very  properly  arranging  to  connect  with  that  Central  Pacific 
single-track,  and  multitudes  of  people  are  indulging  in  visions  of 
the  instantaneous  effect  on  trade  and  commerce  which  is  expected 
by  them  to  follow  its  completion.  But  a  moment's  reflection 
may  satisfy  any  one  that  that  pioneer  track  will  be  utterly  insuf 
ficient  even  for  the  satisfactory  accommodation  of  the  throng  of 
passengers  and  fast-freight  paying  high  prices  to  meet  the  most 
pressing  local  necessities  along  that  single  route.  The  high  rates  of 
freight  upon  its  unfinished  sections  already  indicate  the  absurdity 
of  supposing  that  it  can  accommodate  any  considerable  portion  of  the 
trade  which  we  hope  ultimately  and  ere  long  to  see  flowing  across 
America  between  Europe  and  Asia.  Some  specimens  of  costly  silks 
and  teas,  along  with  some  precious  metals  and  international  mails, 
will  be  able  to  pay  the  high  freight  on  this  single-track ;  but  the 
supposition  that  such  an  incomplete '  and  insufficient  roadway  can 
have  much  effect  beyond  measurably  accommodating  local  traffic  and 
travel,  seems  to  be  one  of  the  wildest  visions  of  this  practical  age  and 
country. 

These  remarks  are  made  in  no  unfriendly  spirit  towards  any  of 
the  pioneer  Pacific  Railway  projects.  The  very  reverse  is  the  case. 
What  is  here  said  is  influenced  only  by  an  earnest  desire  to  aid  in 
arousing  attention  to  the  great  national  necessity  of  promoting  the 
rapid  extension  of  double-tracks  on  each  of  the  three  great  routes 
now  in  progress  for  crossing  the  continent  —  the  Southern  and 
Northern,  as  well  as  the  Central  routes  —  the  Northern  route  claim 
ing  additional  consideration  from  the  fact  of  its  connection  with  the 
westerly  end  of  Lake  Superior  —  a  point  of  vast  importance  con 
nected  with  our  immense  inland  navigation,  which  there  makes  its 
nearest  approach  to  the  waters  of  the  Pacific  world.  And  it  may  be 
here  added  that  the  legislative  and  other  arrangements  for  these  great 
purposes  should  be  such  as  would  ultimately  and  ere  long  secure 
four  tracks  on  each  of  those  three  routes ;  so  that  trade  and  commerce 
may  fiow  freely  to  and  fro  over  one  double-track  on  each  route,  while 
the  other  track  could  be  devoted  to  passengers,  mails,  expresses  and 
fast  freight  that  could  pay  largely  for  rapid  transit. 


MR.    WALBIUDGE'S    SPEECH.  63 

In  this  one  point  alone -touching  the  communications  between 
the  Atlantic  and  Pacific -the  national  railroad  question  assumes  a 
degree  of  importance  worthy  of  the  prompt  and  zealous  consideration 
of  the  business  men  of  the  United  States -justifying  and  requiring 
the  fullest  examination  and  the  most  energetic  action  of  the  people 
generally,  as  well  as  of  the  various  Boards  of  Trade  and  Chambers 
of  Commerce  represented  in  this  Convention.  The  necessities  of  the 
case  — social,  commercial  and  political  necessities  — forbid  any  delays 
in  turning  the  public  mind  and  the  action  of  legislators  and  capitalists, 
toward  expediting  the  facilities  for  intercommunication  on  several 
routes  across  our  continent,  as  matters  of  the  highest  value  to  the 
interests  of  the  American  people  and  to  the  trade  and  commerce  of 
the  world. 

IMPROVEMENT    IX    RAILWAY    MANAGEMENT. 

Intimately  connected  with  this  specific  application  of  railroad 
facilities  across  the  newly-opening  settlements  between  the  Missis 
sippi  and  the  Pacific  Ocean,  is  the  policy  of  improving  the  manage 
ment  of  the  railway  system  which  has  its  ramifications  over  nearly 
forty  thousand  miles  between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 
And  the  importance  of  improvement  on  this  field  of  enterprise  is 
increased  by  the  consideration  that  all  improvements  made  on  the 
existing  railroads  will  of  course  produce  corresponding  effects  on  the 
whole  network  of  railroads  that  is  now  having  its  commencement 
between  the  Mississippi  and  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Investigations  and  statements  lately  made,  and  to  which  the  public 
attention  has  been  widely  attracted  by  popular  movements  and  by 
the  introduction  of  the  several  bills  in  Congress  for  establishing  a 
national  railway  system,  present  the  proposed  improvements  in  a 
lio'ht  that  deserves  respectful  attention  on  an  occasion  like  this. 

G  I 

Among  the  multitude  of  intelligent  citixens  who  approve  the 
proposed  reforms,  there  appear  the  names  of  a  large  portion  of  the 
members  in  both  Houses  of  Congress;  and  we  also  find  that  several 
governors  of  States  have  given  emphatic  sanction,  as  the  result  of 
mature  consideration.  Governor  PEIRPONT,  of  Virginia,  has  actually 
gone  so  far  as  to  recommend  these  proposed  improvements  as  being 
essentially  important  to  the  success  of  the  newly-projected  railway 
across  the  Virginias,  between  the  Chesapeake  Bay  and  the  Ohio 
River  —  where  he  considers  the  cheapening  of  transportation  vitally 
necessary  to  the  projected  acquisition  of  a  large  trade  on  that  route 
between  the  interior  States  and  the  Atlantic  seaboard. 


64  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

The  importance  of  the  subject,  and  the  respectability  of  the  source, 
render  it  proper  to  quote  some  of  the  statements  of  Governor 
PEIKPONT,  which  present  matters  in  a  mode  so  concise  and  em 
phatic,  as  to  command  the  attention  of  thoughtful  men,  and  to 
require  formal  examination  in  a  National  Convention  which  has 
"  Internal  Improvements  "  placed  first  in  the  catalogue  of  subjects 
for  its  consideration. 

PROPOSED    NATIONAL    THOROUGHFARE    BETWEEN    EAST    AND  WEST. 

Let  delegates  from  all  sections  of  the  Union  mark  the  several 
highly  important  points  to  which  Governor  PEIRPONT  has  em 
phatic-ally  invited  the  public  attention.  The  argument  in  favor  of 
an  improved  and  nationalized  railway  system  comes,  at  this  time, 
with  peculiar  interest  from  the  Executive  of  the  State  of  Virginia. 

Speaking  of  the  proposed  railway  between  the  Chesapeake  and 
the  Ohio,  Governor  PEIRPONT  says  : 

**  This  route  "  [through  the  States  of  Virginia  and  West  Virginia] 
"  ought  to  be  a  national  thoroughfare, — created  by  the  nation  for 
accommodating  the  commerce  of  the  great  sections  of  the  country. 
Ohio,  Kentucky,  Indiana,  Western  Tennessee,  Arkansas,  Missouri, 
Illinois,  Wisconsin,  Minnesota,  Iowa,  Kansas  and  Nebraska,  have, 
in  fact,  as  great  an  interest  in  this  work  as  -Virginia  and  West 
Virginia." 

OWNERSHIP    OF    PROPOSED    NATIONAL    RAILWAYS. 

And  now  for  a  few  words  respecting  the  single  point  on  which 
Governor  PEIRPONT  differs  from  some  other  distinguished  men 
as  well  as  from  the  National  Cheap  Freight  League. 

On  that  point,  it  is  desirable  to  be  distinctly  understood ;  especially 
as  the  opinions  of  Governor  PEIRPONT,  however  warmly  appreciated 
in  all  other  respects,  are  not  sustained  in  reference  to  governmental 
ownership,  either  by  the  National  League,  or  by  the  railway  bills  in 
Congress.  That  single  point,  however,  is  so  very  important,  and 
gives  rise  to  so  much  opposition,  even  among  those  who  favor  all  the 
features  which  Governor  PEIRPONT  sustains  in  common  with  the 
National  League  and  the  Congressional  bills,  that  justice  to  the  latter 
requires  that  the  matter  shall  be  clearly  understood ;  and  hence  the 
originators  of  the  Cheap  Freight  organization  promptly  and  emphati 
cally  expressed  their  dissent  on  this  single  point  from  the  worthy 
Governor  of  Virginia,  whose  views  on  other  matters  are  in  cordial 
unison  with  their  own,  concerning  the  general  reform  and  improved 
management  of  the  railway  system. 


MB.    WALBRIDGE'S    SPEECH.  65 


LAKE,    RIVER    AND    CANAL    NAVIGATION. 

It  is  proper  that  the  precise  objects  of  the  League  should  be  defi- 
nitely  stated,  because  a  pamphlet  has  just  appeared,  from  the  pen  of 
a  well-known  citizen  of  Oswego,  concerning  the  "  Commerce  and 
Transportation  of  the  great  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  northwest," 
in  which  the  author  erroneously  asserts,  at  the  commencement  of 
his  essay,  that  the  National  League  is  actually  urging  that  railroads 
shall  be  "owned  and  constructed  by  the  National  Government." 

Without  underrating  the  value  of  the  trade  and  commerce  on  the 
"  great  lakes  and  rivers  of  the  northwest,"  it  is  not  irrelevant  here 
to  notice  the  fact  that  the  navigation  of  those  waters  is  suspended  by 
ice  for  about  five  months  out  of  the  twelve,  during  which  enormous 
evils  arise  from  the  present  deficient  means  and  increased  cost  of 
transportation  on  the  railways  as  now  managed,  and  likewise  from 
the  opportunities  which  this  state  of  things  affords  for  systematic  and 
gigantic  operations  of  speculators,  by  collusion  with  railway  man 
agers  and  otherwise,  for  controlling  the  supplies  of  breadstuffs  and 
other  necessaries  of  life  during  the  long  season,  when  those  lakes  and 
rivers  are  embargoed  by  our  northern  winters, — while  trade  and 
commerce,  and  the  interests  of  farmers,  mechanics,  manufacturers, 
and  all  others  in  the  community,  except  the  speculators  aforesaid, 
strongly  require  that  great  avenues  of  intercommunication  shall  be 
open,  and  operative  throughout  every  month  of  the  whole  year. 

It  so  happens,  too,  that  the  great  lakes  and  rivers  are  chiefly  in 
the  northerly  regions  most  fettered  by  ice  during  that  long  portion  of 
the  year ;  while  the  railroads,  even  as  they  now  exist,  can  be  ar 
ranged,  under  the  proposed  Cheap  Freight  system,  so  as  to  furnish 
supplies  to  and  fro  during  the  wintry  season,  in  a  manner  that  will 
greatly  promote  trade  and  commerce,  and  largely  relieve  the  people 
from  the  extortions  to  which  they  are  now  subjected,  particularly 
during  the  long  period  wherein  our  great  lakes,  rivers,  and  canals 
are  mostly  obstructed  by  ice. 

The  Erie  Canal,  the  most  important  of  our  commercial  water 
ways,  frozen  about  five  months  in  the  year,  and  moving  its  freight  at 
the  slow  average  of  about  one  mile  and  a  half  per  hour  during  its 
seven  months  navigation,  has  such  limited  freight  capacity,  that  one 
double-track  freight  railroad,  with  trains  at  equal  speed  of  ten  miles 
per  hour,  (or  more  than  six  times  the  canal  speed,  and  that  through 
all  the  twelve  months  of  the  year,)  could  transport  fourfold  more 
freight  during  the  year,  than  even  that  justly  celebrated  water 
way. 

9 


66 


COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 


NATIONALITY    OF    THE    RAILROAD    SYSTEM. 

In  this  connection,  a  few  words  and  some  relevant  statistics  may 
be  properly  submitted,  concerning  the  extent  to  which  railways 
are  already  constructed,  or  are  being  extended,  through  the  United 
States  —  showing  that  the  interests  we  are  now  considering  are  emi 
nently  national  in  their  bearings,  and  impartially  affect  all  sections 
and  neighborhoods  throughout  our  common  country  —  freed  from  the 
interruptions  which  winter  produces  on  the  navigation  on  the  great 
canals,  rivers,  and  lakes  of  the  northern  and  northwestern  regions. 

The  Bureau  of  Statistics  has  just  furnished  a  summary  statement 
of  the  length  and  cost  of  the  railroads  completed  and  in  progress 
throughout  the  United  States,  at  the  close  of  the  year  18G7  : 


MILES. 

Cost  of  Roads  and 

STATES,  &c. 
Total. 

Complete. 

Equipment. 

Maine,  -        -        -        - 

638.29                        512.57 

$18,039,779 

New  Hampshire,  - 

667.36                       687.36 

22,230,337 

Vermont,      - 

601.74                       588.74 

24,459,893 

Massachusetts,       -         -             1,479.50                    1,400.60 

71,731,934 

Rhode  Island,        -        -                151.74 

119.24 

4,973,682 

Connecticut,-        -        -  '              793.20 

637.30 

14,097,741 

New  York,    -         -         -             3,830.34 

4,182.59 

169,508,176 

New  Jersey,  - 

984.77                       911.29 

64,550,741 

Pennsylvania, 

4,628.72                     4,192.81 

221,917,857 

Delaware,      - 

177.40                        160.40 

5,417,484 

Maryland,     - 

855.35                       606.69 

37,106,685 

West  Virginia, 

586.75                        364.75 

22,972,154 

Virginia,       -         -         -             1,073.32                    1,494.18 

49,365,194 

North  Carolina,     - 

1,367.54                     1,000.42 

20,089,040 

South  Carolina,    - 

1,109.17                     1,007.17 

26,961,091 

Georgia,        -         -         -             1,750.60 

1,547.90 

34,352,624 

Florida,         -         -         -  |              606.60 

439.60 

9,416,000 

Alabama,      -         -         -             1,507.00 

850.00 

27,268,295 

Mississippi,   -        -        -  1              897.90 

897.90 

25,508,404 

Louisiana,     ... 

872.50 

333.25 

14,386,557 

Tennessee,    - 

1,508.85 

1,326.35 

44,386,387 

Kentucky,     - 

1,012.10 

634.90 

23,719,404 

Arkansas,     ... 

1,921.23 

113.00 

4,400,000 

Texas,  - 

2,590.75 

495.25 

15,200,000 

Ohio,    .--- 

4,726.46                     3,397.84 

147,540,950 

Indiana,         - 

2,606.08 

2,306.05 

87,560,722 

Illinois,-         -         -         -             3,607.49 

3,224.49 

149,000,657 

Michigan,      -         -         -             1,851.88 

1,062.82 

45,043,870 

Wisconsin,    -         -         -             l,467.7n 

1,036.50 

40,960,182 

Minnesota,    -        -    *    - 

1,646.00 

419.50 

11,250,000 

Iowa,    - 

2,146.00 

1,109.00 

49,191,450 

Nebraska,  &c., 

988.70 

555.00 

25,000,000 

Missouri,       ... 

1,494.48 

984.75 

55,754,105 

Kansas,         ... 

835.00 

484.00 

22,500,000 

California,     ... 

1,093.50 

382.50 

27,090,000 

Nevada  and  Utah,- 

545.30 

30.00 

2,000,000 

Orcgon,         -     "- 

250.50 

19.50 

500,000 

Aggregate,    • 

54,325.85 

88,61 

$1,654,050,799 

Aggregate  last  year, 

51,606.54 

196.26 

1  ,592,464,085 

Increase  over  IRfiG,        -!           2,719.31 

1,709.55         !              $61,586,714 

MR.    WALBRIDGE'S    SPEECH.  67 


NEW    YORK    CENTRAL    AND    ERIE    RAILWAYS. 

With  the  views  already  expressed,  let  us  particularly  examine 
some  few  facts  now  suggested  for  the  improvement  of  our  railway 
system,  and  glance  at  what  are  considered  some  of  the  leading  defects 
in  the  present  management  of  even  our  most  prominent  railroads. 

Without  dwelling  on  evils  that  have  too  largely  affected  and  too 
frequently  disgraced  such  a  vast  range  of  railway  enterprises,  beset, 
as  they  were,  with  many  difficulties  usually  connected  with  the 
various  interests  involved  in  new  projects  of  such  diversified  char 
acter  as  now  compose  the  American  Railroad  system,  let  us  seek 
some  prominent  practical  exemplifications  of  errors  which  now  most 
seriously  affect  the  management  of  the  iron  thoroughfares,  with  the 
purpose  of  seeing  how  those  errors  may  be  abated  or  remedied,  and 
the  efficiency  of  the  railroad  system  vastly  increased,  for  the  mutual 
benefit  of  the  people  and  the  railroad  corporations. 


EFFECTS    OF    BAD    MANAGEMENT. 

Take,  for  example,  the  operations  of  the  two  great  railways  through 
the  State  of  New  York,  connecting  the  Atlantic  waters  with  the 
northwestern  lakes  and  rivers.  The  Erie  Railway  and  the  New 
York  Central,  from  their  position  and  magnitude,  may  be  considered 
fair  samples  of  railroad  management  in  the  United  States ;  and  how 
have  these  great  corporations  improved  or  neglected  the  cultivation 
of  their  great  advantages  ? 

Examination  of  the  sworn  returns  from  those  two  railroads,  em 
bodied  in  the  documents  of  the  New  York  legislature,  has  enabled 
the  National  Cheap  Freight  League  to  present  those  great  thor 
oughfares  as  "  prominent  exemplars  of  errors  alike  injurious  to  their 
stockholders  and  the  public."  The  defects  thus  referred  to  are  of 
specific  and  practical  character,  which  it  is  in  the  power  of  either  or 
both  companies  to  remedy.  The  errors  thus  particularized,  and 
which  are  independent  of  any  other  defects  in  those  corporations,  are 
briefly  specified  as  consisting,  in  their  present  mode,  of  "freight  and 
passenger  transportation,  with  mixed  trains  of  varying  speed." 

Never  before  were  the  affairs  of  any  railroad  companies  analyzed 
in  a  clearer  manner,  than  has  been  done  by  the  author  of  that  paper 
in  the  publications  of  the  National  League.  His  statement,,  thus 
founded  on  the  official  returns  from  the  above-named  companies, 
carry  with  them  a  degree  of  authority  that  may  well  challeng, 
defy  criticism.  His  is  the  logic  of  facts,  sustained  by  the  logic  of 


68  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

"figures  that  cannot  lie  "  in  this  case,  unless  we  suppose  that  the 
officers  of  both  companies  have  deliberately  falsified  their  own  sworn 
returns  to  the  New  York  Legislature. 

NO    ANTAGONISM    TO    EXISTING    RAILWAYS. 

Let  it  not  be  overlooked,  for  it  is  an  important  feature  of  the  pro 
posed  Railway  Reform,  that  the  parties  who  are  most  zealous  in 
sustaining  the  policy  proposed  by  the  several  national  railroad  bills 
now  pending  in  Congress,  are  emphatic  in  declaring  that  they  would 
gladly  see  such  improved  arrangements  made  by  existing  railroads 
as  will  render  congressional  intervention  less  important,  if  not 
wholly  needless,  in  regions  where  railroads  already  exist ;  though  a 
general  National  Railway  Law  would  still  be  desirable,  to  authorize 
railroad  companies  to  extend  their  routes  wherever  they  find  the 
public  wants  require  such  extensions,  substantially  in  the  same  way 
that  the  National  Government  lately  passed  a  General  Ttlrgroph 
Law,  allowing  telegraphers  to  spread  their  lightning  lines,  wherever 
required,  throughout  the  United  States. 

It  is  for  the  managers  of  existing  roads  on  the  great  thoroughfares, 
to  show  by  their  course  that  they  will  take  immediate  measures  for 
adopting  some  such  improvements,  to  facilitate  the  transit,  while 
lessening  the  cost  of  freight.  Hence,  as  before  stated,  there  is  '•  no 
necessary  antagonism  between  the  friends  of  reform  and  the  present 
railway  managers."  If  the  energies  of  those  managers  shall  continue 
to  be  directed,  as  they  are  too  frequently  directed,  to  speculations  in 
stocks  and  other  sharp  practices,  instead  of  reforming  the  errors  and 
adopting  the  improvements  which  experience  has  demonstrated,  the 
necessity  for  new  lines  will  be  generally  recognized  by  the  public. 
As  a  specimen  of  the  prevailing  opinions  on  these  matters,  we  may 
quote  a  brief  passage  from  a  report  submitted  to  the  New  York  State 
Constitutional  Convention,  now  in  session,  by  one  of  its  most  valued 
members, — the  Hon.  FREEMAN  CLARKE, — a  well-known  banker, 
who  was  formerly  in  Congress,  and  more  recently  the  Controller  of 
the  national  currency.  That  distinguished  gentleman, — than  whom 
few  can  be  better  fitted  to  express  correct  opinions  on  such  sub 
jects, — warmly  approves  of  the  cheap  freight  policy  proposed  by  the 
National  League,  and  embodied  in  the  bills  before  Congress ;  and, 
in  a  report  on  the  financial  condition  of  the  State,  he  refers  to  the 
internal  improvements,  for  the  purpose  of  saying  that  the  public 
necessities  demand  just  such  cheap  freight  railroads  as  are  now  pro 
posed  ;  adding  that,  if  existing  railroad  companies  will  not  promptly 
comply  with  the  popular  requirements  for  better  and  cheaper  freight 


MR.   WALBRIDGE'S    SPEECH.  69 

arrangements,  « there  is  capital  enough  ready  to  establish  a  new  rail- 
way  line  on  the  cheap-freight  system  between  New  York  and  Lake 
Erie  — to  be  continued  ultimately  to  the  Pacific  Ocean." 

HOW    AN    IMPROVED    RAILWAY   POLICY    MAY    BE    INTRODUCED. 

There  is  less  difficulty  than  many  people  may  suppose  in  preparing 
some  of  our  great  railways  for  adopting  some  of  the  principal  feature" 
of  the  proposed  improvements.  The  Erie  Railway  and  New  York 
Central,  for  instance,  could,  in  a  short  time  and  with  moderate 
expense,  provide  themselves  with  an  additional  double-track  on  the 
portions  of  their  respective  routes  where  they  have  now  only  one 
double-track.  On  the  New  York  Central,  a  double  track  between 
Albany  and  Syracuse  is  all  that  would  be  needed  to  secure  this  great 
result  —  as  the  Company  owns  two  double-tracks  between  Syracuse 
and  Buffalo.  The  Erie  Railway  requires  an  additional  double-track 
only  between  New  York  and  Corning  —  owning  or  controlling  two  or 
more  double-tracks  between  the  latter  place  and  the  lakes.  Here, 
then,  is  a  comparatively  easy  way  to  introduce  the  proposed  reform. 
The  "mixed"  way  of  running  freight  and  passenger  trains,  with 
various  speed  on  the  same  tracks,  is  most  pernicious  to  the  companies 
owning  both  roads,  as  well  as  to  the  public.  The  course  of  each  road 
is  suicidal.  The  struggle  for  passengers  causes  both  roads  to  make 
the  freight  trade  secondary  to  the  travelling  —  although  it  is  from 
freight  that  both  roads  derive  the  profit  which  enables  the  Central  to 
work  almost  for  nothing  in  conveying  passengers,  while  the  Erie 
Railway  actually  loses  money  largely  on  its  passenger  traffic  —  as 
shown  by  an  analysis  of  the  sworn  returns  from  both  companies. 
"  The  freight  business  of  the  Erie  and  Central,  which  produced  a  net 
revenue  last  year  of  $.i, 13  2,289,  must  necessarily  continue  cramped, 
and  remain  but  partially  developed,  so  long  as  the  running  of  freight 
trains  is  regarded  by  railway  managers  as  of  secondary  importance 
to  the  passenger  trains."  ''  Just  think  of  twenty-five  thousand  (25,000) 
freight  trains  being  switched  on  to  side-tracks  of  these  two  roads 
during  the  year,  to  allow  passenger  trains  to  dash  a-head ! "  says 
Mr.  F.  II.  STOWE,  an  eminent  statistician.  And  what  was  the 
pecuniary  result?  Why,  only  a  profit  of  eighty-seven  thousand 
dollars  ($87,000)  to  the  Central,  on  all  its  large  passenger  busi 
ness,  while  the  Erie  Railway  staggers  under  the  suicidal  infliction 
of  an  actual  loss  of  one  hundred  and  twenty-one  thousand  dollars 
($121,000)  upon  the  passenger  business,  for  which  it  madly  neglected 
the  freight  trade  — on  which  latter  it  has  to  rely  for  all  its  profits, 
and  for  "enough  to  pay  its  actual  losses  on  its  passenger  traffic !  Such 


70  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

folly  and  madness  would  be  wholly  incredible,  were  it  not  actually 
proved  by  the  sworn  returns  of  the  managers  of  both  roads.  But  a 
dawn  of  hope  is  furnished  by  the  recent  elections  in  both  companies — 
and  to  the  newly-chosen  managers,  the  public  at  large,  as  well  as 
their  own  stockholders,  must  and  will  look  for  a  system  of  manage 
ment  less  injurious  to  the  companies  themselves  and  less  pernicious 
to  the  people  at  large. 

POLICY    OF    THE    CONGRESSIONAL    RAILWAY    BILLS. 

In  considering  proposed  arrangements  for  improving  the  raihvay 
system,  it  is  proper  to  inquire  whether  we  should  or  should  not  act  in 
conformity  with  the  principles  embodied  in  the  several  Congressional 
bills,  which  are  the  pioneer  measures  in  a  proposed  national  system 
of  intercommunication.  If  the  movements  for  railway  reform,  which 
have  caused  the  introduction  of  those  bills,  should  progress  in  popular 
favor  in  the  future  as  in  the  past,  any  arrangement  that  ignored  the 
principles  of  those  bills  would  probably  prove  unsatisfactory  and 
short-lived.  That  the  management  of  the  railway  system  is  to  be 
brought  under  a  combination  of  improvements,  whereby  its  power 
may  be  largely  increased  and  its  cost  greatly  lessened,  is  quite  certain. 
That  freight  tariffs,  under  proper  organization  and  economy,  may  be 
reduced  more  than  fifty  per  cent,  is  now  the  settled  conviction  of 
many  of  the  best  business  men  who  have  investigated  the  subject  in 
all  its  bearings.  The  people  are  becoming  more  and  more  satisfied 
that  the  odious  feature  of  monopoly  in  the  carrying  of  freight  and 
passengers  is  injurious  to  the  Commonwealth,  and  oppressive  to  all 
the  producing  interests. 

It  is  therefore  a  public  necessity,  whether  or  not  it  be  the  choice  of 
raihvay  managers,  that  an  almost  complete  revolution  shall  be  effected 
in  the  management  of  a  system  so  intimately  connected  with  the 
interests  of  the  people  in  every  branch  of  society  and  in  every  section 
of  the  land. 

SUBSTANCE    OF    THE    CONGRESSIONAL    BILLS. 

And  now  let  us  turn  to  the  Congressional  bills  on  the  railway 
question,  that  their  precise  nature  may  be  fully  understood.  These 
bills  are  all  founded  on  the  proposed  "  cheap-freight  anti-monopoly 
plan." 

One  of  them,  introduced  by  Senator  HENDERSON,  of  Missouri,  is 
for  a  route  connecting  with  the  Pacific  road  in  Kansas,  and  thence 
running  through  Arkansas  and  Texas,  to  the  Gulf  of  Mexico. 


MR.   WALBRIDGE'S    SPEECH.  71 

Another  enterprise,  for  which  Senator  NYE,  of  Nevada,  introduced 
a  bill,  is  designed  for  a  coal  thoroughfare  from  the  Pennsylvania 
mines  to  the  eastern  shore  of  New  Jersey,  on  the  navigable  waters  of 
the  harbor  of  New  York. 

A  third  bill,  submitted  by  Senator  HARLAN,  of  Iowa,  proposes 
encouragement  for  a  freight  thoroughfare  from  the  Mississippi  to  the 
Atlantic,  with  termini  at  New  York,  Boston,  Philadelphia  and  Balti 
more  ;  with  ultimate  design  to  extend  the  same  from  the  Mississippi 
to  the  Pacific. 

Other  bills  of  similar  character  are  said  to  be  in  preparation  by 
Congressmen  from  different  sections ;  but  the  three  above-named  are 
the  only  ones  actually  before  Congress. 

These  bills  are  all  substantially  identical  in  reference  to  principles, 
plan  of  construction,  and  management  —  as  likewise  to  the  proposed 
financial  arrangements  and  proprietorship.  So  that  a  quotation  from 
one  of  them  —  say  the  HARLAX  bill,  with  which  the  others  will  be 
made  to  conform,  if  they  are  not  already  in  strict  conformity,  will 
enable  all  readers  to  judge  of  the  characteristics  of  the  whole. 

The  two  preliminary  sections  in  each  bill  are  occupied  with  desig 
nating  the  location  and  the  corporators ;  about  two  hundred  persons, 
residing  in  all  parts  of  the  Union,  being  named  now  in  the  three 
bills,  with  more  to  be  added,  so  as  to  have  all  interests  and  all  sec 
tions  represented  in  the  proposed  corporations.  Then  follows  : 

"SECTION  III.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  principle  and  plan  upon  which 
said  railway  and  branches  shall  be  constructed  and  managed,  .shall  be  as  follows, 


V  Ifj.  . 

"First.  The  railway  shall  be  a  double  track,  well  graded,  ballasted,  and  sub 
stantially  laid  with  rails  adapted  to  heavy  freights,  together  with  nil  necessary 
bridges, "culverts,  turn-outs,  depots,  etc.,  and  in  width  of  gauge  shall  correspond 
with  the  most  numerous  class  of  roads  to  be  accommodated  iu  transporting  over 

the  same. 

"  Second.     Said  railway  and  branches  shall  be  open  to  free  compcti 
persons  companies,  or  other  corporations,  who  may  desire  to  put  passenger,  mail, 
or  freight  trains  thereon,  or  to  engage  in  transporting  on  or  over  said 
branches;  such  persons,  companies,  or  corporations  to  pay  such  reasonabl 
may  be  prescribed  by  the  company  hereby  incorporated,  or  by  C 
Drivileo;c  of  transporting  over  said  railway. 

«  Third     For  the  purpose  of  giving  to  said  railway  its  greatest  carmt 
pacitv,  as  well  as  to  avoid  difficulties  in   management  and  liability  to  ace 
Sierc"  shall  be  adopted  a  moderate  and  uniform  rate  of  speed  for  all  trams  of, 
soever  description  passing  over  said  railway;  such  rate  of  speed 
with  reference  to  economy  in  fuel  and  the  preservation  of  the  nul 
stock;  and  said  companv  hereby  incorporated  shall  have  full  power 
necessary  rules  and  regulations  as  to  the  quality  of  rolling  stock  to  be  placed  or 


72  COMMERCIAL  CONVENTION. 

admitted  on  said  railway,  and  the  management  of  the  same,  and  to  compel  com 
pliance  with  said  rules  and  regulations,  and  in  case  of  non-compliance  to  exclude 
anv  person,  companv,  or  corporation,  so  refusing  to  comply,  from  transporting 
over  said  railway.  * 

"  SECTION  VI.  Be  it  further  enacted,  That  the  United  States,  and  the  respec 
tive  States  and  incorporated  cities,  when  duly  authorized  by  the  laws  of  the  State 
wherein  situated,  shall  be  privileged  to  take  stock  in  said  railway  and  branches,  to 
the  extent,  in  the  aggregate,  of  three-fourths  of  the  entire  stock,  by  paying  into  the 
treasury  of  said  company  in  gold  or  its  equivalent,  the  same  as  other  stockholders  ; 
and  when  said  United  States,  or  anv  State  or  incorporated  citv  shall  have  become 
stockholders  as  aforesaid,  they  shall  have  a  voice  in  the  election  of  directors  and 
officers  corresponding  to  the  ratio  which  their  respective  shares  shall  bear  to  the 
whole  of  the  shares  of  said  company :  And  it  is  further  provided,  That  said  com 
pany  is,  and  shall  be  authorized  to  receive,  take,  hold  and  convey  any  donations  in 
land  or  other  property  which  may  he  made  by  the  United  States,  or  by  any  State, 
company,  corporation,  or  individual,  for  the  purpose  of  assisting  to  carry  out  the 
enterprise  authorized  by  this  act." 

IMPORTANT    PRINCIPLES    INVOLVED. 

The  principles  contained  in  the  Congressional  bills,  and  in  the 
memorials  on  which  they  are  founded,  aside  from  the  proposed  man 
agement  of  the  railway  trains,  are  no  less  important  than  the  in 
creased  freight  capacity  and  cheapening  of  freights.  The  foundation 
of  this  proposed  national  railway  system  is  made  to  rest  on  solid 
principles  of  legislative  rectitude  and  commercial  integrity.  .  If  this 
new  system  is  carried  out  into  practice,  it  will  revolutionize  the 
whole  machinery  of  corrupt  legislation  and  profligate  railway  man 
agement.  Its  effect  will  be  to  destroy  the  plans  and  practices  whereby 
false  capitalization,  and  dividends  on  fictitious  stock,  have  too  fre 
quently  and  too  largely  plundered  the  stockholders,  oppressed  the 
people,  and  disgraced  the  railway  system.  The  provisions  of  the 
Congressional  bills,  concerning  the  financial  operations  in  railroading, 
indicate  the  integrity  which  characterizes  this  railway  reform  move 
ment,  and  are  worthy  of  the  warmest  popular  approbation. 

And  in  this  connection  it  is  proper  to  quote  the  sentiments  of  a 
leading  organ  of  the  existing  railroad  interests,  in  which  that  journal 
advocates  the  real  interests  of  honest  stockholders  as  contra-distin 
guished  from  the  corrupt  profits  of  scheming  railway  managers. 
The  American  Railroad  Journal,  after  warmly  commending  the 
proposed  mode  of  running  trains  so  as  to  expedite  and  cheapen 
freight  transit  on  the  roads,  says : 

"  There  is  another  provision  in  the  bills  before  Congress  which  requires  that  the 
roads  shall  l>c  capitalized  on  cash  and  built  for  cas/i,  and  no  share  of  stock  to  be 
issued  unless  there  be  paid  into  the  treasury  of  the  company  one  hundred  dollars 


MR.    WALBRIDGE'S    SPEECH.  73 

itSeilh;al0n;;  thercf°r  '  ««l  »<  *»*  or  ,o,VW5  on  the  road,  or  frnn- 
n        -n        ™*  ^  all'CkanCCS  f°r  W(ltir€d 

p        bc  v-y  likcly  to  ohjcct  to  this' 


o  -^  aic          - 

di  d  d  M  COngTCSS'.lf  ^  Wl11  lmvca  P°or  «*ow  for  fictitious  shams  to  1» 
b  ceao  fo  npnssing  thc  bms  The  .n  ^ 

m.n  wdl  hardly  be  followed,  wherein  it  was  alleged,  a  few  vears  since,  that  four 
hundred  and  eighty  thousand  pounds  (nearly  two  and  a  half  million,  of  dolk«) 
were  absorbed  in  parliamentary  expenses,  in  nine  years,  on  a  single  railwav.  Thai 
are  other  protons  of  a  novel  character,  betokening  mncli  forethought  in  'guarding 
the  bills,  in  order  to  avoid  imposition  on  the  public." 

FINANCIAL    CHARACTER    OF    THE    NATIONAL    RAILWAY    REFORM. 

In  this  connection,  it  is  due  to  the  high  importance  of  the  subject, 
and  also  to  the  friends  of  reform  who  are  sustaining  the  Congressional 
railway  bills,  that  the  emphatic  declarations  of  the  National  League 
shall  be  quoted  in  reference  to  the  financial  character  of  the  moveme°nt  : 

"And  here  let  it  be  distinctly  understood,"  says  an  Address  from  that  League, 
"  that  this  anti-monopoly  cheap-freight  railway  movement  relies  for  success  only  on 
its  intrinsic  merits,  on  the  intelligence  of  the'  people,  and  on  the  integrity  of  the 
legislators.  It  will  nowise  provide  means  for  hiring  '  the  lobby,'  or  buying  (if  it 
were  possible  to  buy)  congressional  or  legislative  votes.  No  person  whatever  —  not 
even  the  corporators  named  in  the  Congressional  bills  —  have,  or  can  have,  any 
greater  interest  in  the  new  railways  than  a  share  of  the  common  benefits  which  the 
system  may  confer  on  the  people  generally.  There  are  no  bonuses  or  hrilws  —  no 
fat  contracts  for  favorites  —  no  ficticious  stock  for  speculators.  By  a  rigid  financial 
policy,  combined  with  provisions  for  securing  equal  rights  to  all  forwarders  who  will 
pay  tolls  on  the  roads,  and  by  showing  how  railways  can  be"  made  to  trans  j»ort 
vastly  more  freight  at  far  less  cost,  this  new  railway  system  seeks  to  secure  popular 
favor  and  legislative  authority  for  its  establishment  and  support.  Like  the  original 
project  of  the  great  Erie  Canal,  this  cheap-freight  railway  system  must  succeed  by 
the  strength  of  its  own  merits  among  the  people,  whose  interests  it  will  largely 
promote." 


DUTIES  OF  THE  CONVENTION  IN  REFERENCE  TO  RAILWAY  REFORM. 

Justice  to  the  multitude  of  citizens,  in  all  sections  of  the  Union,  who 
are  united  in  the  movement  for  railroad  reform,  so  as  to  promote 
better  management  of  the  railroad  system  in  ways  that  may  provide 
increased  means  of  interchanging  commodities,  as  well  as  travelling 
at  less  cost  than  at  present  —  justice  to  the  great  number  of  prominent 
men,  including  a  large  portion  of  the  members  of  both  branches  of 
Congress,  who  have  endorsed  the  cheap-freight  policy  as  *'  the  most 
effective  agency  that  can  be  adopted  to  secure  the  prosperity  of  the 
people"  in  all  parts  of  the  land  —  justice  to  the  various  Boards  of 
Trade  and  Chambers  of  Commerce  which  have  sent  their  delegates 
from  all  parts  of  the  nation  to  examine  and  discuss  the  best  meuns 
10 


<4  COMMERCIAL    CONTENTION. 

proposed  for  promoting  intercommunication  by  the  different  means  of 
internal  improvement — justice  towards  one  of  the  greatest  questions 
of  national  policy  ever  presented  in  any  country  —  requires  that  this 
National  Convention  shall  fully  consider,  with  the  view  of  expressing 
definite  opinions  upon,  the  important  matters  involved  in  the  Con 
gressional  bills  so  eminently  national  in  their  connection  with  the 
public  welfare  in  every  section  and  neighborhood  throughout  our 
wide-spread  Union. 

Hence  the  extent  and  cxplicitness  with  which  I  have  endeavored 
to  ascertain  and  present  the  leading  features  of  the  improvements 
proposed  by  the  National  Cheap  Freight  League  and  by  the  pending 
Congressional  railway  bills.  Whatever  we  may  individually  think 
about  some  of  the  features  or  about  the  general  scope  of  the  policy 
proposed  in  those  bills,  every  consideration  of  propriety  seems  to 
require  that  this  Convention  shall  devote  to  such  matters  a  full  share 
of  the  time  and  attention  which  we  are  expected  to  bestow  on  the 
important  topics  included  in  the  call  which  has  brought  us  together — 
first  and  foremost  in  that  call  being  the  subject  of  "  internal  improve 
ments"  in  their  connection  with  the  welfare  of  all  portions  of  the 
community  and  with  the  vital  interests  of  the  commercial  section  of 
that  community  which  we  as  delegates  have  been  sent  here  to 
represent. 

With  a  view,  therefore,  of  causing  proper  action  on  the  various 
important  topics  to  which  attention  is  invited,  I  submit  the  following 
resolutions  in  accordance  with  the  lending  considerations  which  have 
influenced  the  expressions  of  opinion  embodied  in  the  foregoing 
remarks  ;  and  I  now  move  that  the  same  lie  upon  .the  table,  to  be 
first  in  order  for  the  action  of  the  next  National  Commercial  Con 
vention. 


RESOLUTIONS   ON   THE   SUBJECT   OF  INTERNAL 
IMPROVEMENTS. 

1.  He  it  Resolved*  That  this  Convention  fully  recognizes  the 
universality  and  justice  of  the  popular  demands  from  all  parts  of 
the  Union  for  such  amendments  and  extensions  of  internal  improve 
ments,  by  land  and  water,  as  will  suitably  accommodate  the  great 
and  rapidly  increasing  public  wants  for  better  and  cheaper  means  of 
intercommunication,  as  a  vital  necessity  among  all  portions  of  the 
American  people  —  such  improvement  and  cheapening  of  facilities 
for  intercommunication  ranking  next  in  importance  only  to  the  great 
subject  of  national  reconstruction. 


RESOLUTIONS    OF   MR.   WALBR1DGE. 


2.  Resolved,  therefore.  That  this  Convention  earnestly  recommends 
the  most  liberal  policy  from  the  National  Government  towards  all 
companies  that  are  laboring  to  improve  our  vast  internal  water- 
communications,  so  as  to  increase,  to  the  greatest  practicable  degree, 
the  advantage  of  connections  between  the  whole  range  of  the  great 
hikes,  rivers  and  canals,  in  such  way  as  to  render  our  inland  navi 
gation  most  serviceable  to  the  people  through  all  the  vast  regions 
connected  with  our  inland  navigation. 

o.  Resolved,  also,  That  immediate  measures  should  be  taken  by 
existing  railroad  companies,  especially  on  the  great  routes  of  trade 
and  travel  between  the  Northern  lakes  and  the  Southern  Gulf  coast, 
and  between  the  Atlantic  and  Pacific  Oceans,  to  organize  their 
respective  railways  —  so  that,  as  soon  as  possible,  two  double-tracks 
shall  be  provided  on  each  of  the  leading  routes  between  those  im 
portant  points  —  so  as  to  remedy  the  evils  and  losses  resulting  from 
the  present  practice  of  transporting  freight  and  passengers  in  trains 
of  different  speed  over  the  same  tracks. 

4.  Resolved,  further,   That   this   Convention,  in  view  of  existing 
evils   and   deficiencies,  earnestly  recommends  that  the  existing  rail 
roads  on  the  aforesaid  great  routes  of  trade  and  travel,  shall  meet  the 
popular  requirements  for  safety,  cheapness  and  increased  freighting 
facilities,  by  so  combining  their  operations  that  some  one  or  more  of 
those    double -tracks    shall    be    devoted  wholly  to    transportation    of 
general  freight,  in  trains  running  with  equal  speed,  at  such  velocity 
(say  ten  miles  per  hour)  as  may  secure  the  greatest  amount  of  freight 
transportation,  with  greater  speed  and  regularity,  and  at  lower  prices, 
than  at  present  —  including  with  their  freight-trains,  on  the  cheap- 
freight  railways,  such  passenger  cars  as  may  accommodate  the  multi 
tudes  who  would  prefer  moderate  speed  with  increased  safety,  at  far 
lower    cost  —  freed   from    dangers  of  collision  and  other  accidents 
always  largely  existing  on  tracks  where  mixed  trains  of  freight  and 
passengers  are  run  with  varying  speed. 

5.  Resolved,  also,  That  this  Convention  recognizes  the  propriety 
of  immediately  devoting  some  of  the  above-mentioned  railroads  to 
the  exclusive  transit  of  passengers,  mails,  expresses,  and  such  costly 
freight  as  can  afford   to   pay  high  prices  for  the  most  expeditious 
transportation  ;  so  that  life  and  property  shall  be  no  longer  sacrificed 
by  the  collisions  and  other  difficulties  resulting  from  the  pernicious 
mode  of  running  mixed   trains  of  freight  and  passengers  with  dif 
ferent  velocities  on  the  same  track. 

6.  Resolved,  farther,  That,  in  the  opinion  of  this  Convention,  such 
Cements  for  separating  travel  and  traffic  would  result  in  trans- 


arrange 


76  COMMEllCIAL    CONVENTION. 

porting  vastly  greater  amounts  of  freight  and  passengers  with  greater 
safety,  regularity  nivl  cheapness  than  by  the  present  mode  of  railway 
management;  especially  as  it  is  demonstrable  that  one  double  track 
road,  with  trains  running  at  equal  speed  of  ten  miles  per  hour,  could 
transport  three  or  four  times  more  freight  during  a  year  than  the 
great  Erie  Canal,  and  eight  or  ten  times  as  much  freight  as  either 
the  Erie  Railway  or  New  York  Central  now  transports  through  their 
"  mixed  "  arrangements  for  travel  and  traffic  between  the  East  and 
West. 

7.  Resolved,  That,  inasmuch  as  the  facts  deduced  from   official 
sworn  returns  of  such  railroads  as  the  Erie  Railway  and  New  York 
Central,  prove  that  '"  mixed  traffic  "  of  freight  and  passenger  trains 
at  various  velocities   over  each   track,  vastly  impairs  the  freighting 
facilities,  while  at  the  same  time  leaving  no  adequate  profit  to  those 
companies  on  their  passenger  traffic,  it  be  respectfully  recommended 
that  each  of  the  above-named  companies  shall  consider  the  propriety 
of  making  a  new  double-track  on  the  Central  route  between  Albany 
and  Syracuse,  and  on  the  Erie  route  between  New  York  and  Elmira, 
westward  of  which  places  the   respective   companies    have   several 
tracks  on  different  routes   connecting   with  the   great  lakes  and  the 
Western    railroads,    which    comparatively    small   additions    to   their 
present  tracks  would  enable   each  of  those  companies  to  devote  a 
double-track  on  each  route    to  freight  and  passengers,  running  at 
moderate  regular  speed  and  low  prices,  while  the  other  double  track 
on  each  route  would  be  devoted  to  travellers,  mails,  expresses,  and 
costly  freight,  that  can  afford  to  pay  high  prices  for  rapid  transit. 

8.  Resolved,    That,   in    contemplation    of    the    world-wide    trade 
expected  to  flow  across  our  continent  between  Europe  arid  Asia,  as 
well  as  in  reference  to  the  domestic  trade  and  intercourse  between 
the  rapidly  increasing  population  of  Western  America  and  the  resi 
dents  of  other  portions  of  our   National  Union ;  and  as  the  single 
track  Central  Railroad  now  rushing  toward  completion  in  the  year 
1870,  (however  valuable  as  a  pioneer  measure,)  will  be   utterly  in 
adequate   for   the  necessities  of  advancing   civilization    in  this   age 
and  country ;  it  is  the  opinion  of  this  Convention,  that  the  highest 
social,  commercial  and  national  considerations  imperatively  demand 
that  the  strongest   immediate   efforts  of  government  and  capitalists 
shall  be  directed  toward  the  speedy  completion  of  double-track  rail 
ways  on  each  of  the  three  leading  routes  across  the  United  States, — 
with  ultimate  provision   for  a  second  double-track  on  each  route,  so 
that   clieap  freight  and  travel,  at  moderate  equal  speed,  may  occupy 
one  double-track,  while  the  other  double-track  can    be  devoted  to 


RESOLUTIONS    OF    MR.    WALBRIDGE.  77 

fast  travel,  mails,  expresses  and  costly  freight,  paying  "  fast  "  prices; 
one  of  which  great  railways  being  additionally  required  by  the  in 
terests  of  our  immense  inland  navigation,  from  the  fact  of  its  connec 
tion  with  the  upper  end  of  Lake  Superior, — the  most  westerly  point 
where  lake  navigation  approaches  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Laid  on  the  table. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  FRALEY,  the  Convention  ad 
journed,  to  meet  on  Friday,  the  7th  inst.,  at  ten 
o'clock,  A.  M. 


THIRD    DAY. 

FRIDAY,  FEBRUARY  7,  1868. 


The  Convention  met  at  a  quarter  past  ten  o'clock, 
in  the  forenoon,  the  President  in  the  chair. 

Prayer  was  offered  by  the  Rev.  WILLIAM  R.  NICHOL 
SON,  D.D.,  of  Boston. 

By  vote,  the  reading  of  the  Journal  of  yesterday 
was  dispensed  with. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  FRALEY,  leave  to  retire  was 
granted  to  the  Committee  on  Commerce. 

Mr.  HATCH,  of  Buffalo,  offered  the  following  reso 
lution,  which,  on  his  motion,  was  laid  on  the  table, 
informally : 

Resolved,  That  inasmuch  as  the  commerce  upon  the  canals  of  the 
State  of  New  York  is  national,  and  the  people  of  all  the  States  are 
interested  in  cheap  transportation  —  the  food  consuming  States  of  the 
Atlantic  and  the  food  producing  States  of  the  West  —  this  National 
Commercial  Convention  do  recommend  Congress,  after  the  usual 
survey  and  report  of  the  Government  engineers  before  expenditure 
of  public  money,  to  appropriate  sufficient  money  to  improve  these 
transit  lines  of  inland  commerce  to  their  utmost  capacity  for  the 
transportation  of  Western  products  in  the  cheapest  and  shortest  time 
to  our  seaboard  cities.  Provided  :  that  the  people  of  the  State  of 
New  York  shall,  through  the  Legislature,  enact  in  their  laws  or 
adopt  in  their  Constitution  a  section,  that,  after  the  payment  of  all 
debts  contracted  for  the  construction  or  maintenance  of  their  canals, 
thereafter  they  will  levy  no  more  or  greater  tolls  upon  property 
transported  upon  their  canals  than  shall  be  necessary  for  their  repairs 
and  further  improvement. 

Mr.  NAZRO,  of  Boston,  from  the  Committee  on  Order 
of  Business,  submitted  a  report,  recommending  that 


80  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

the  several  questions  to  be  considered  be  called  up  in 
the  following  order : 

1.  National  Chamber  of  Commerce. 

2.  Weights  and  Measures. 

3.  Transportation. 

4.  Foreign  Commerce. 

5.  Taxation. 

6.  Agricultural  and  Manufacturing  Interests. 

7.  Currency  and  Finance. 

8.  Miscellaneous. 

The  report  was  adopted. 

Mr.  HILL  read  a  communication  from  Mr.  OTIS 
KIMBALL,  General  Agent  of  the  Southern  Michigan 
Railroad  Line,  tendering  to  the  Western  delegates  a 
free  passage  over  that  road  and  the  Lake  Shore 
road. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  WETHERILL,  the  invitation  was 
accepted,  and  the  thanks  of  the  Convention  were 
ordered  to  be  returned  to  Mr.  KIMBALL  for  his 
civility. 

Mr.  HILL  also  read  a  communication  inviting  the 
members  of  the  Convention  to  inspect  an  improved 
freight  car  at  the  Lowell  Railroad  station,  which  wras 
referred  to  the  Committee  on  Transportation. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  presented  the  following  report 
from  the  Committee  on 

A  NATIONAL  CHAMBER  OF  COMMERCE. 

Your  Committee,  to  whom  has  been  referred  the  consideration  of 
a  plan  for  the  organization  of  a  National  Chamber  of  Commerce,  beg 
to  present  a  paper  on  the  general  subject,  prepared  by  Mr.  HILL,  of 
Boston,  as  introductory  to  the  recommendations  which  they  desire  to 
make  to  the  Convention. 


THE    ADVANTAGES    OF    A    NATIONAL    CHAMBER.      81 


MR.    HILL'S    PAPER. 

The  Detroit  Convention  of  1863,  just  before  its  final  adjournment, 
passed  two  resolutions,  upon  the  recommendation  of  a  special  com- 
mittee,  the  one  of  which  urged  the  importance  of  the  immediate 
organization  of  a  new  department  of  the  General  Government,  to  be 
known  as  the  Board  of  Trade,  and  to  have  the  oversight  and  care  of 
all  questions  relating  to  our  agricultural,  manufacturing  and  commer 
cial  interests;  and  the  other,  requested  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade  to 
mature  a  plan  for  a  National  Chamber  of  Commerce,  to  have  no 
organic  connection  with  the  Government,  but  to  concentrate  and  give 
expression  to  the  views  of  the  merchants  of  the  country  upon  all 
questions  relating  to  trade  and  finance. 

The  division  of  the  manifold  duties  devolving  upon  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  which  it  was  hoped  in  18G5  would  soon  be  made,  has 
not  yet  been  acted  upon  at  Washington,  and  that  official  is  still  charged 
with  the  care  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the  country  in  all  their 
variety  and  diversity,  in  addition  to  the  vast  responsibility  which 
attaches  to  the  management  of  the  public  finances  and  the  collection 
of  the  national  revenues.  It  is  hoped  that  the  Commercial  Convention 
of  1868  will  again  bring  this  subject  to  the  attention  of  Congress,  and 
that  it  will  authorize  a  memorial  in  its  behalf,  asking  for  the  imme 
diate  establishment  of  a  Department  of  Trade,  for  reasons  which  were 
set  forth  at  length  in  a  report  submitted  to  the  Detroit  Convention. 

But  whether  such  a  department  be  established,  or  otherwise,  the 
time  would  seem  to  have  fully  come  for  the  formation  of  a  National 
Chamber,  composed  of  the  business  men  of  the  nation,  whereby  they 
may  be  enabled  to  take  counsel  and  to  act  together  for  the  promotion 
of  the  great  material  interests  which  belong  to  them  in  common. 
Within  a  few  months  past,  attention  has  been  given  by  some  of  the 
members  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade  to  the  proceedings  of  an 
association  in  Great  Britain,  which  will  illustrate  perhaps  what  the 
merchants  of  the  United  States  may  imitate  with  advantage  to  them 
selves.  Notwithstanding  the  existence  of  a  Board  of  Trade  as  a 
branch  of  the  English  Government,  the  efficiency  and  value  of  which, 
to  British  industry  and  enterprise,  it  would  be  difficult  to  estimate, 
the  merchants  of  that  country,  or  rather  the  local  Chambers  of  Com- 
merce,  judged  it  for  their  interest  a  few  years  since  to  establish  what 
is  called  "  The  Association  of  Chambers  of  Commerce  of  the  United 
Kingdom,"  the  object  of  which,  as  succinctly  stated  in  its  Constitution, 
is  »  to  attain  those  advantages  by  united  action  (where  that  is  prac 
ticable,)  which  each  Chamber  would  have  more  difficulty  in  accom- 
11 


82  COMMKRCIAL    CONVENTION. 

plishing,  in  its  separate  capacity."  Its  organization  is  simple,  the 
officers  consisting  only  of  a  Chairman,  two  honorary  Secretaries,  a 
paid  agent  in  London,  and  a  Standing  Committee  of  ten.  Jt  holds 
a  meeting  annually ;  and  special  meetings  as  these  may  be  called  for. 
As  indicating  the  position  which  it  has  gained,  it  is  interesting  to 
know  that  last  spring  her  Majesty's  Government  requested  it  to 
depute  some  of  its  members  to  visit  Russia,  in  order  to  see  what  could 
be  done  to  improve  the  existing  commercial  relations  between  that 
empire  and  Great  Britain,  and,  accordingly,  Mr.  ATKINSON,  of  Hull, 
and  Mr.  WRIGLEY,  of  Iluddersfield,  made  a  tour  of  thorough  investi 
gation,  the  results  of  which  are  given  in  carefully  elaborated  reports, 
which  have  appeared  in  print.  The  Association  was  not  in  existence 
when  Mr.  COBDEN  was  engaged  in  negotiating  the  commercial  treaty 
now  in  force  between  Great  Britain  and  France,  or  its  assistance 
would  then,  undoubtedly,  have  been  in  requisition  ;  but  the  represen 
tatives  of  several  of  the  local  Chambers  were  invited  to  lend  their 
cooperation  during  the  progress  of  those  negotiations,  and  to  supply 
the  particulars  on  which  action  should  be  based.  These  facts  show 
the  feeling  of  the  British  Government  toward  the  local  and  the 
associated  Chambers.  An  extract  from  the  speech  of  a  member  of 
Parliament  on  a  recent  occasion  will  show  the  feeling  of  individual 
members  of  that  Government.  At  a  dinner  at  the  Westminster 
Palace  Hotel,  Mr.  BERKELEY  spoke  to  the  following  effect : 

"For  thirty  years  past,  daring  which  period  he  Imd  represented  Bristol,  he  had 
found  that  the  creation  of  local  Chambers  of  Commerce  was  not  only  of  the  greatest 
advantage  to  himself  and  any  gentleman  who  happened  to  be  his  colleague,  but 
was  also  productive  of  the  greatest  benefit  to  the  towns  in  which  the}-  were  estab 
lished,  and  to  the  commercial  community  generally.  He  also  considered  that  the 
organization  of  these  Chambers,  which  allowed  their  forming  part  of  one  general 
association,  was  productive  of  great  benefit.  As  far  as  he  was  personally  concerned, 
he  could  only  say  that  a  great  weight  had  been  taken  off  his  shoulders  by  the  assist 
ance  he  had  received  from  the  Chamber  connected  with  the  city  which  he  had  the 
honor  to  represent." 

As  further  illustrating  what  the  relations  of  such  an  association 
may  be  to  the  Government  under  which  it  exists,  we  quote  from 
another  speech  on  the  same  occasion,  by  Mr.  LLOYD,  the  Chair 
man  : 

"  The  object  of  associating  these  different  Chambers  together  was  to  endeavor  to 
attain  that  harmony  of  opinion  which  would  give  tlr.'ir  expressed  opinions  some 
weight  with  the  Legislature  of  the  country,  a  weight  they  could  not  have  if  they 
were  not  united.  They  endeavored  to  give  their  views  and  opinions  the  requisite 
maturity,  before  they  ventured  to  ask  die  Government  to  act  upon  them;  and  the 


A    NATIONAL    CHAMBER.  83 

means  they  employed  was  mutual  discussion.  Therefore  he  contended  that  if  the 
opinion  of  a  Chamber  of  Commerce  was  of  more  woight  than  the  opinion  of  an 
individual  miTchant,  the  matured  opinions  of  an  association  of  Chamlxsrs  some  of 
them  comprising  perhaps  thive  hundred  members,  must  be  of  still  greater  import 
ance,  becaus'j  thi>  views  adopted  and  advocated  \\viv  the  result  of  (blihcratc  and 
long  continued  discussions,  extending  perhaps  over  two  or  three  years  l>efore  any 
representation  was  made  to  the  Government.  The  object  of  the  Association  was, 
therefore,  to  obtain  such  advantages  as  could  not  be  attained  by  individual  Cham 
bers,  and  he  believed  that  both  tlvj  last  and  the  present  Government  gave  much 
more  weight  to  an  expression  of  opinion  on  the  part  of  the  Association,  than  they 
would  to  that  of  a  single  Chamber." 

It  is  difficult  to  conceive  why,  in  the  United  States,  a  somewhat 
similar  association,  simple  in  its  organization  and  elastic  in  its  work 
ings,  should  not  be  equally  useful  in  watching  over  industrial  inter 
ests,  and  equally  influential  with  the  government.  With  us  also,  no 
doubt,  an  expression  of  opinion  from  such  an  association  would  carry 
more  weight  than  one  coming  from  any  local  body,  and,  from  the 
very  conditions  under  which  it  would  be  reached,  it  would  be  entitled 
to  do  so.  Members  of  Congress  frequently  desire  to  know  the  judg 
ment  of  merchants,  bankers,  and  others,  upon  measures  in  which  they 
are  especially  concerned  ;  and  the  information  they  would  be  likely 
to  receive  from  a  National  Chamber  of  Commerce  would  be  more 
mature,  more  impartial,  more  comprehensive,  than  that  which  would 
be  supplied  by  individuals,  and,  perhaps,  even  by  local  chambers. 
The  business  men,  constituting  a  National  Chamber,  would  be  two 
removes  distant  from  personal  and  special  considerations  ;  first,  by 
their  membership  in  the  local  body  comprising  manifold  branches  of 
industry  ;  secondly,  by  their  presence  in  a  chamber  representing  not 
only  various  industries,  but  various  localities.  The  results,  therefore, 
of  their  deliberations,  could  not  fail  to  be  received  with  attention  and 
with  respect;  and  to  the  extent  to  which  these  would  reach,  they 
would  obviate  the  necessity  for  that  personal  and  persistent  pressure 
of  particular  interests  at  the  seat  of  government,  which  is  so  annoy 
ing  to  representatives,  so  trying  to  merchants,  and  so  prejudicial  to  a 
sound  and  well  balanced  system  of  legislation. 

ORGANIZATION. 

Your  Committee  further  beg  to  propose  the  following  resolutions 
for  the  adoption  of  the  Convention  : 

Resolved,  That  the  following  plan  be  adopted  for  the  preliminary 
organization  of  a  National  Board  of  Trade  : 

°lst.     This   Association   shall   be   designated   as    the  « A*s< 
National  Board  of  Trade." 


84  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

2nd.  Its  object  shall  be  the  promotion  and  harmonizing  of  the 
industrial  and  commercial  interests  of  the  country. 

3rd.  It  shall  consist  of  one  delegate  from  eacli  incorporated  Board 
of  Trade,  Chamber  of  Commerce,  or  similar  commercial  body  in  the 
United  States,  which  shall  join  the  Association,  and  agree  to  appoint 
such  delegate.  Each  such  designated  body  having  one  hundred 
members,  shall  have  an  additional  delegate  ;  any  such  body  having 
five  hundred  members,  shall  have  a  third  delegate  ;  and  any  having 
one  thousand  or  more  members,  shall  have  a  fourth  delegate. 

4th.  It  shall  hold  at  least  one  session  annually,  at  such  time  i\nd 
place  as  shall  be  designated,  and  may  hold  special  meetings  as  may 
be  directed  in  its  By- Laws. 

5th.  The  Association  shall  adopt  a  Constitution,  shall  determine 
and  elect  its  own  officers,  and  establish  such  By-Laws  as  may  be 
requisite  for  its  proper  working. 

6th.  The  Boston  Board  of  Trade  is  requested  to  take  measures 
to  carry  out  the  above  plan,  and  to  call  a  meeting  of  the  delegates  at 
such  time  and  place  as  may  seem  best. 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  strongly  recommend  to  the  dele 
gates  composing  the  National  Board  of  Trade,  that  the  ba»is  of  the 
Constitution  shall  be  the  plan  prepared  by  Mr.  GANG,  of  Cin 
cinnati. 

MR.    GANG'S    PLAN. 

In  order  to  promote  the  efficiency  and  extend  the  usefulness  of  the 
various  Produce,  Corn  and  Commercial  Exchanges,  Boards  of  Trade 
and  Chambers  of  Commerce  in  the  United  States ;  to  secure  unity 
and  harmony  of  action  in  reference  to  commercial  usages,  customs  and 
laws,  and  especially  in  order  to  secure  a  fair  consideration  of  ques 
tions  that  pertain  to  the  financial,  commercial,  and  manufacturing 
interests  of  the  country  at  large,  this  Association,  hereby  designated 
and  to  be  known  as  the  National  Chamber  of  Commerce  of  America, 
is  formed. 

ARTICLE    I. 

Section  1.  Each  local  Board  of  Trade,  Chamber  of  Commerce  and 
Produce,  Corn,  or  Commercial  Exchange  in  the  United  States  that 
is  or  may  be  chartered  under  State  or  National  laws,  and  that  shall 
comprise  fifty  active  members,  shall  be  entitled  to  membership  in  the 
National  Chamber  of  Commerce,  to  be  represented  by  four  delegates 
one  to  be  chosen  annually,  and  each  delegate  to  serve  four  years. 


PLAN    FOR   A    NATIONAL    CHAMBER.  85 

Sect.  2.  Delegates  selected  to  represent  the  constituent  mrmbers 
for  the  first  year,  or  fraction  of  a  year,  shall,  amongst  themselves,  by 
lot  or  otherwise,  determine  which  one  of  their  number  shall  serve 
for  the  various  terms  of  one,  two,  three  and  four  years. 

Sect.  3.  Honorary  members  may  be  elected  by  the  Chamber,  on 
the  proposal  of  any  one  of  the  local  organizations  represented  herein; 
but  shall  have  no  voice  in  its  affairs,  or  in  disposing  of  its  business; 
though  they  may,  on  leave,  address  the  Chamber,  or  submit  questions 
for  consideration. 

ARTICLE    II. 

Section  1.  Voting  on  questions  submitted  for  the  action  of  the 
Chamber,  shall  be  on  the  following  ratios,  namely  :  Each  constituent 
Association,  through  its  delegates,  shall  have, — 

One      vote    for    50  to  150  members. 

Two     votes  for  150  to  300  members. 

Three  votes  for  300  to  500  members. 

Four    votes  for  500  members,  and  upwards. 

Sect.  2.  The  basis  of  representation  shall  be  determined  on  a 
statement  of  the  number  of  members  of  each  local  Association  repre 
sented,  certified  by  the  President  and  Secretary,  accompanied  by  a 
copy  of  the  charter  of  the  Association,  proposing  membership. 

ARTICLE    III. 

Section  1.  The  government  of  the  affairs  of  the  Chamber  shall  be 
vested  in  an  Executive  Board  of  nine  members,  to  be  selected  by 
registered  ballot  at  each  annual  meeting. 

Sect.  2.  The  members  of  the  Board  shall,  immediately  after  their 
election,  select  from  their  number  a  President,  a  Secretary,  and  a 
Treasurer,  and  may  from  time  to  time  employ  such  assistants  or 
clerks  as  shall  be  necessary. 

Sect.  3.  The  Secretary  and  Treasurer  may  receive  such  special 
or  annual  compensation  as  the  Chamber  shall  grant. 

Sect.  4.  Jn  case  of  the  removal,  resignation  or  death  of  any 
member  of  the  Executive  Board,  his  place  for  the  unexpired  term 
shall  be  promptly  filled  by  the  constituent  Association  that  delegated 
him. 

ARTICLE    IV. 

Section  1.     It  shall  be  the  duty  of  the  Executive  Board:— 
1st.     To  keep  (or  provide  for)  full  and  accurate  records  of  the 
proceedings  of  the  Chamber,  and  of  its  own  meetings. 


86  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

2nd.  To  submit  to  eacli  .annual  meeting  a  report  of  the  doings  of 
the  Chamber,  and  of  their  own  official  acts,  as  well  as  a  statement  of 
what  new  or  unfinished  business  may  require  the  attention  of  the 
Chamber. 

3rd.  To  make  full  statement  as  to  the  finances  of  the  Chamber  to 
the  annual  meetings,  and  to  other  meetings  when  called  on  to 
do  so. 

4th.  To  apportion  to  each  Association  represented,  its  assessment 
for  the  expenses  of  the  Chamber,  as  provided  elsewhere. 

5th.  To  make  such  recommendations  as  they  may  deem  to  be 
necessary  for  the  welfare  and  to  promote  the  objects  of  the  Chamber. 

Sect.  2.  The  President  shall  serve  as  Chairman  of  the  Chamber, 
and  of  the  Board  ;  in  his  absence  one  of  the  other  members  of  the 
Board  shall  serve  as  Vice-President. 

Sect.  o.  The  Secretary  shall  conduct  the  official  correspondence 
of  the  Chamber,  and  shall  make  and  have  charge  of  the  records  of 
the  Board  and  of  the  Chamber. 

Sect.  4.  The  Treasurer  shall  receive  and  account  for  all  moneys 
belonging  to  the  Chamber,  collect  assessments  and  fines,  but  shall  pay 
out  no  money  and  dispose  of  no  property  of  the  Association,  except 
on  a  warrant  ot  the  Secretary,  countersigned  by  the  President. 

ARTICLE    V. 

Sfdicn  1.  Meetings  of  the  Chamber  shall  be  held  in  the  City  of 
Philadelphia,  on  the  third  Tuesday  in  September  of  each  year;  and 
at  other  times  on  the  call  of  five  members  of  the  Executive  Board, 
or  on  the  written  call  of  twelve  lay  members  of  the  Chambt  r. 

Sect.  '2.  The  attendance  of  twenty  members  shall  constitute  a 
quorum. 

Sect.  3.  Circular  notice  of  the  annual  or  other  meetings  shall  be 
served  by  the  Secretary  on  each  constituent  Association,  at  least 
thirty  days  before  the  time  appointed  for  assembling.  The  notice 
shall  state  the  object  of  the  meeting,  and  the  questions  to  be  con 
sidered. 

Sect.  4.  Meetings  of  the  Executive  Board  shall  be  held  annually 
on  the  day  preceding  the  day  of  the  yearly  meeting  of  the  Chamber, 
and  at  such  other  times  as  may  be  provided  in  its  By -Laws. 

ARTICLE    VI. 

Section  1.  The  necessary  expenses  for  managing  the  affairs  of 
the  Chamber  shall  be  borne  in  equal  proportion  by  an  assessment  to 


PLAN    FOR   A   NATIONAL    CHAMBER.  87 

be  made  by  the  Executive  Board  on  each  local  Association  repre 
sented  herein,  according  to  the  ratio  of  officially  reported  mem 
bership. 

AIITICLE    VII. 

Section  1.  When  any  constituent  Association  shall  desire  to  pre 
sent  a  paper  for  the  consideration  of  this  Chamber,  it  shall  be  its 
duty  to  transmit  an  authenticated  copy  of  it  to  the  Secretary  of  the 
Chamber  at  least  sixty  days  previous  to  the  annual  meeting. 

Sect.  2.  Questions  or  resolutions  may  be  submitted  to  any  irreg 
ular  or  informal  meeting  of  the  Chamber  by  the  members  thereof, 
but  final  action  shall  not  be  had  on  them  excepting  at  an  annual 
meeting. 

ARTICLE    VIII. 

Section  1.  Any  constituent  Association  charged  with  a  violation 
of  the  laws  of  this  Chamber  may,  after  formal  complaint  thereof  in 
writing,  on  a  vote  of  two-thirds  of  all  the  delegates  of  the  other  local 
Associations  represented  herein,  be  expelled ;  but  it  shall  not  be 
exempted  from  the  payment  of  assessments  levied  for  the  year 
current. 

Sect.  2.  Any  constituent  Association  may  withdraw  from  mem 
bership  in  the  Chamber  on  submitting  a  formal  request  to  that  effect 
at  an  annual  meeting,  and  on  full  payment  of  all  dues. 

ARTICLE    IX. 

Section  \ .  These  laws  may  be  revised,  amended  or  repealed  by  the 
members  in  annual  convention,  notice  of  the  proposed  revision, 
amendment,  or  repeal  having  first  been  submitted  to  the  Secretary 
by  a  member  at  least  sixty  days  previous  to  the  meeting,  at  which 
the  same  is  to  be  considered,  ai.d  transmitted  by  the  Secretary  in 
circular  copies  to  each  member,  at  least  thirty  days  before  said 
meeting. 

ARTICLE  x. 

Section  1.  When  the  majority  of  the  Boards  of  Trade,  Chambers 
of  Commerce  and  Produce,  Corn,  or  Commercial  Exchanges  in  the 
United  States  which  number  five  hundred  members  and  upwards,  shall 
have  given  their  formal  assent  to  this  Association  by  filing  written 
notice  thereof  with  the  Secretary  of  the  Boston  Hoard  of  Trade,  the 
National  Chamber  of  Commerce  shall  be  regarded  as  formally  con- 


88  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

stituted,  and  these  laws  as  binding  on  them  for  the  uses  and  purposes 
named. 

Sect.  2.  When  the  Association  is  completed,  as  provided  in 
Section  1  of  this  Article,  the  Secretary  of  the  Boston  Board 
of  Trade  shall  give  the  constituent  Associations  thirty  days'  notice  of 
a  time  for  the  delegates  to  meet  for  organization. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  I  move  the  acceptance  and  adoption  of  the 
report. 

Mr.  NAZRO  :  I  would  merely  suggest  whether  it  would  not  be 
expedient,  in  recommending  this  plan,  to  say  that  the  Annual  Meeting 
shall  be  held  in  the  City  of  Washington,  instead  of  leaving  it  to  be 
called  by  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade,  at  any  place  designated  by 
them. 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  I  would  say,  in  reply  to  that,  that  the  very 
moment  you  open  that  question,  the  gentlemen  from  Philadelphia  will 
make  the  same  request,  and  the  gentlemen  from  New  York,  Boston, 
and  every  other  large  city  will  do  the  same  thing  ;  and  the  Committee 
therefore  deemed  it  best  to  leave  the  entire  matter  to  the  gentlemen 
of  Boston. 

Mr.  GOSIIORX,  of  Cincinnati  :  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
Committee  have  not  reported  according  to  the  instructions  given 
them  by  this  Convention.  It  was  their  duty  to  report  a  plan  of 
organization.  They  have  given  us  suggestions,  and  have  unanimously 
resolved  that  the  plan  submitted  by  Mr.  GANO  is  a  proper  one.  It 
seems  to  me,  sir,  that  it  is  highly  proper  that  there  should  be  no 
further  delay,  and  that  this  Convention  should  adopt  a  Constitution 
and  a  plan  for  the  permanent  organization  of  the  Association.  As  it 
is  now,  it  is  left  just  where  it  was  by  ihe  Detroit  Convention. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  This  report  provides  for  the  organization  of 
a  National  Chamber  of  Commerce  at  once,  and  the  suggestion  that 
Mr.  GANG'S  plan  should  be  adopted,  is  merely  made  for  the  con 
sideration  of  the  delegates,  when  they  shall  assemble.  The  paper  is 
decisive  upon  the  question  of  having  a  National  Board  of  Trade. 

Mr.  GOSIIORN  :  We  ought  to  have  a  definite  understanding 
before  we  separate  as  to  the  plan  of  this  organization.  The  plan  sub 
mitted  by  Mr.  GANG,  as  I  understand,  is  only  a  suggestion  by  the 
Committee;  the  Convention  have  no  knowledge  of  it.  I  would  there 
fore  offer  the  following  resolution,  as  it  seems  to  me  the  delegates  to 


THE    CHAMBER    TO    MAKE    ITS    OWN    BY-LAWS.        89 

this  Convention  were  sent  here  for  the  express  purpose  of  formic  a 
Board  of  Trade  : 

WHEREAS,  The  Detroit  Convention  affirmed  the  necessity  of  the 
establishment  of  a  National  Board  of  Trade,  and  empowered  the 
Boston  Board  to  take  proper  steps  to  bring  about  the  organization; 
and 

WHEREAS,  The  present  Convention  has  been  called  for  the  specific 
purpose  "to  organize  a  National  Board  of  Trade,"  and  the  members 
have  been  delegated  by  their  respective  Boards  with  a  special  view 
to  the  accomplishment  of  this  object ;  therefore 

Resolved,  That  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  a  National  Board 
of  Trade  be  recommitted,  with  instructions  to  report  a  Constitution 
for  such  Association,  and  temporary  officers  for  the  same,  who  shall 
make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  the  first  meeting  of  the  Na 
tional  Board,  and  who  shall  hold  office  till  the  election  of  successors 
at  said  meeting. 

O 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  I  differ  very  much  indeed  from  the  gentle 
man  from  Cincinnati,  because  I  conceive  that  the  Committee  having 
this  matter  in  charge  have  fully  accomplished  their  entire  work,  and 
on  the  adoption  of  that  report,  we  shall  have  done  exactly  what  we 
were  authorized  to  do.  The  Convention  will  then  have  organized  a 
National  Board  of  Trade.  We  give  its  name ;  we  state  its  objects  ; 
we  specify  its  ratio  of  representation ;  and  Ave  allow  it,  as  I  under 
stand,  very  properly,  to  form  its  own  By-Laws.  It  would  hardly  be 
in  good  taste  for  this  Convention  to  undertake  to  dictate  to  a  different 
body  what  its  Constitution  and  what  its  By-Laws  should  be.  We 
shall  not,  in  all  likelihood,  be  delegates  to  the  National  Board  of 
Trade,  and  when  others  than  we  shall  meet,  it  does  seem  to  me  that 
for  us  to  have  said  what  their  Constitution  and  their  By-Laws  shall 
be,  would  be  highly  improper. 

Now,  sir,  Ave  have  examined  this  subject  in  all  its  aspects,  and  we 
believe  that  to  accomplish  this  object,  and  make  it  effective  and  satis 
factory,  the  simplest  plan  the  plainest,  and  that  Avhicfi  is  most  easily 
understood,  is  the  proper  and  most  effective  one.  Suppose  we  had 
offered  a  set  of  By-LaAvs,  and  suppose  we  had  fixed,  for  instance,  the 
day  of  meeting.  Why,  there  are  not  ten  gentlemen  in  this  room  who 
could  agree  as  to  that  day.  The  gentlemen  in  the  Eastern  part  of 
the  country  would  want  to  meet,  for  instance,  in  October;  that  Avould 
not  suit  the  gentlemen  in  the  West ;  and  so,  sir,  upon  that  one  point, 
\ve  should  probably  spend  this  entire  day  arguing  as  to  the  proper 
time  for  this  Convention  to  meet. 
12 


90  COMMERCIAL   CONVENTION. 

As  to  the  place.  We  have  already  heard  from  Boston  —  they 
would  prefer  Washington.  The  delegates  from  Pennsylvania  would 
prefer  Philadelphia;  and  so  all  the  States  of  the  West  and  of  the 
North  would  contend  that  the  National  Convention  should  meet  in 
the  city  of  their  preference;  and  it  would  take  another  day,  probably, 
to  discuss  and  settle  that  question.  We  leave  these  questions  to  be 
settled  by  the  gentlemen  who  are  to  direct  and  control  the  National 
Board  of  Trade  —  and  how  proper  that  is.  We  give  its  name,  as  I 
said  before;  we  state  its  object;  we  fix  the  ratio  of  representation  ; 
and  we  require  the  Association  to  meet  at  least  once  a  year,  and  as 
much  oftener  as  the  necessities  of  the  case  demand  ;  and  what  more 
do  we  want  ?  If,  I  repeat,  we  desire  to  make  this  organization 
effective,  we  must  make  it  simple.  The  Committee  believe  their 
plan  will  be  effective,  and  I  hope  the  Convention  will  endorse  their 
report. 

Mr.  McLAREN,  of  Milwaukie  :  As  a  member  of  that  Com 
mittee,  I  agree  with  the  main  points  of  the  report;  but  if  I  under 
stand  the  English  language  rightly,  we  have  not  fulfilled  our  duty. 
We  have  not  "organized  a  National  Board  of  Trade."  If  the  gentle 
men  will  refer  to  the  call  which  brought  them  here,  they  will  find 
this  specific  topic  is  named  :  "The  organization  of  a  National  Board 
of  Trade,  or  Chamber  of  Commerce,"  and  it  seems  to  me,  as  the 
gentleman  from  Cincinnati  has  said,  we  are  leaving  the  matter  exactly 
where  we  found  it.  The  Boston  Board  of  Trade  were  authorized 
and  requested  to  call  a  Convention  to  form  a  National  Board  of 
Trade ;  they  have  done  this ;  and  now  we  simply  vary  the  basis  of 
representation,  and  then  ask  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade  to  call  the 
delegates  together  again  to  form  the  National  Board.  It  seems  to 
me  we  should  form  the  Constitution  and  elect  the  officers,  and  then 
we  should  have  done  something.  I  would  not  propose  to  go  into  the 
making  of  By-Laws,  but  I  would  like  to  see  a  Constitution  adopted, 
and  temporary  officers  appointed,  who  would  take  the  matter  in 
charge,  and  then,  I  repeat,  we  should  have  done  something. 

Mr.  ROPES,  of  Boston  :  I  do  not  think  that  the  Committee 
or  the  Convention  were  so  bound  by  the  call  of  the  Boston  Board- of 
Trade,  —  which  was  intended  to  be  of  the  most  general  character, — 
as  to  preclude  us  from  acting  on  our  best  judgment.  If  this  Conven 
tion  deems  it  wise  to  adopt  this  report,  instead  of  forming  a  Consti 
tution  and  appointing  officers,  it  is  perfectly  competent  to  do  so.  The 
Committee  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  it  is  best  to  advise  the 
Convention  to  take  that  course,  instead  of  undertaking,  at  this  session, 


TIME    AND    PLACE    OF    MEETING    SUGGESTED.        91 

(which  must  necessarily  be  brief,  and  which  has  seven  important 
subjects  before  it,  of  which  this  is  only  one,)  to  do  the  whole  work 
which  ought  to  be  done  by  the  National  Board  itself.  It  is  according 
to  the  principles  of  our  government,  that  all  bodies  should  govern 
themselves,  and  that  "governments  derive  their  powers  from  the 
consent  of  the  governed."  Now,  sir,  a  National  Board  of  Trade, 
with  officers  appointed  by  this  Convention,  which  is  not  the  National 
Board  of  Trade,  would  be  somewhat  of  an  anomaly.  The  object  with 
us  now  is  not  to  have  a  National  Board  to-morrow  or  next  month,  but 
to  start  the  machinery  which  will  inevitably  put  it  in  motion ;  and  I 
submit  that  this  report  accomplishes  that  object.  Therefore,  I  am 
now  in  favor,  —  although  at  first  I  was  not,  —  of  this  simple  plan  for 
putting  the  machinery  in  operation  ;  and  the  National  Board,  for 
which  we  have  provided  all  that  is  necessary  —  given  it  its  name, 
fixed  the  basis  of  representation,  and  laid  upon  the  Boston  Board  of 
Trade  the  duty  of  calling  it  together  and  of  fixing  the  time  and  place, 
—  then,  I  say,  it  is  the  business  of  the  National  Board  of  Trade  to 
organize  itself  and  start  itself.  I  submit,  that  we  have  more  im 
portant  business  before  us  than  to  go  into  all  these  details,  on  which 
no  ten  men  could  agree. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  I  desire  to  state,  that  after  a  full  discussion 
of  the  question  by  the  Committee,  they  unanimously  instructed  me  to 
make  the  report,  and  I  regret  that  any  member  of  the  Committee 
should  come  in  here  with  objections  to  it.  I  say,  upon  my  honor,  we 
unanimously  agreed  to  that  report  in  Committee. 

Mr.  NELSON,  of  Chicago  :  While  I  agree  entirely  with  the 
report,  which  I  think  will  accomplish  the  good  that  we  anticipate 
from  the  organization  of  a  National  Board  of  Trade  or  Chamber  of 
Commerce,  it  seems  to  me  of  the  utmost  importance  that  we  fix  the 
time  and  place.  The  other  details  must  necessarily  be  arranged  by 
the  Board  when  it  meets ;  but  we  must,  as  every  gentleman  here  will 
see,  leave  a  large  amount  of  unfinished  business,  which  will  just  be 
started.  We  want  to  go  home  and  discuss  these  matters  with  our 
people,  with  the  understanding  that  they  will  come  before  this  Na 
tional  Board  of  Trade  when  it  is  organized;  and  I  think  that 
report  mi-lit  be  recommitted  to  the  same  Committee,  with  instructions 
to  report  the  time  and  the  place.  The  only  motion  I  have  to  make 
in  answer  to  the  gentleman  from  Philadelphia  is  to  cover  the  ground 
with  regard  to  one  Western  city.  I  move,  as  the  sense  of  I 
vention,  that  Philadelphia  be  the  place  appointed  for  the  first  mee  *g 
of  the  National  Board  of  Trade,  and  that  the  time  1 
January,  1869. 


92  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

Mr.  McL.VREN  :  I  rise  to  a  personal  explanation.  I  did  not 
vote  for  the  report  in  the  Committee.  On  the  contrary,  I  opposed  it 
all  through. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  It  is  proper  to  say,  that  that  was  so ;  but, 
upon  the  linal  vote,  it  was  unanimous. 

Mr.  McLAREN  :   I  was  not  present. 

Mr.  STRANAHAN  moved  the  adoption  of  the  report, 
and  demanded  the  previous  question. 

The  previous  question  was  ordered,  and  the  report 
was  adopted. 

Mr.  HOFFMAN,  of  Philadelphia,  submitted  the  fol 
lowing  report : 

ON  WEIGHTS   AND   MEASURES. 

Your  Committee  on  AVeights  and  Measures  beg  leave  to  report, 
that  in  their  opinion  the  interests  of  the  country  at  large  demand  an 
uniform  standard  of  weights  and  measures  which  will  apply  to  each 
State  of  our  Union  ;  and  they  have  concluded  to  report  and  recom 
mend  for  your  adoption,  the  following: 

Resolved,  1st.  That  the  cental  system  for  the  measurement  of  all 
the  products  of  the  soil  is  best  adapted  to  the  requirements  of  the 
trade  of  the  country,  and  is  in  harmony  with  our  decimal  currency. 

Resolved^  2nd.  That  it  be  recommended  that  on  and  after  the  first 
of  August,  18G8,  each  association  represented  in  this  Convention, 
adopt  the  cental  system  in  the  sale,  storage,  and  transportation  of 
said  products. 

Resolved,  3rd.  That  we  recommend  that  on  and  after  the  first 
of  August,  1868,  two  hundred  pounds  shall  constitute  a  barrel  of 
flour  or  meal. 

Resolved,  4th.  That  this  Convention  recommend  the  enactment 
by  Congress  of  such  laws  as  are  necessary  to  carry  into  effect  the 
foregoing  resolutions  as  a  national  measure,  and  to  extend  the  cental 
or  decimal  system  to  all  weights  and  measures. 

Resolved,  5th.  That  as  Congress  has  now  under  consideration  the 
subject  of  the  measurement  of  spirits  and  other  liquids,  with  a  view 
of  collecting  the  revenue  on  the  same,  this  Committee  do  not  deem  it 
necessary  to  take  any  action  in  regard  to  that  matter. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  SHEPARD,  of  Alban}^  the  report 
was  accepted,  and  was  adopted  unanimously. 


AGRICULTURE   AND   MANUFACTURES.  93 

Mr.  BENNETT,  of  Pittsburgh,  from  the  Committee 
on  Agriculture  and  Manufactures,  stated  that  the 
Committee,  after  deliberation,  had  agreed  unanimously 
to  report  the  following  resolution  : 

AGRICULTURE   AND   MANUFACTURES. 

Resolved,  That  the  natural  market  of  the  agriculturist  is  the  home 
market,  and  that  all  the  interests  of  this  great  and  growing  country 
should  be  so  arranged  as  to  harmonize,  and  that  in  a  revision  of  the 
tariff  laws  the  duties  should  be  so  adjusted  as  to  keep  the  balance  of 
trade  in  favor  of  this  country,  and  at  the  same  time  afford  the  great 
est  protection  to  domestic  labor  arid  production,  by  placing  upon  those 
articles  in  which  labor  constitutes  the  greatest  proportion  of  cost,  the 
highest  duties,  thus  encouraging  the  importation  of  the  laborer,  in 
stead  of  the  completed  fruits  of  his  labor. 

Mr.  ATKINSON,  of  Boston  :  I  want  to  say  a  word ;  and  in 
order  that  I  may  do  so,  I  move  to  amend  by  adding,  "  that  the  home 
market  be  considered  the  market  of  the  world."  I  also  move  that 
the  report  be  recommitted,  in  order  that  the  Committee  may  define 
what  they  mean  by  "  the  balance  of  trade."  I  will  withdraw  these 
two  motions,  and  move  that  when  the  vote  be  taken,  it  be  taken  by 
tellers,  and  the  Chairman  of  each  delegation  report  the  vote  of  his 
delegation. 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  I  should  like  very  much  to  know  the  rea 
sons  why  this  report  should  not  be  acted  upon  in  the  usual  way.  I 
hope  the  gentleman  will  give  his  reasons  for  making  this  an  excep 
tion. 

Mr.  HlNCKEN,  of  New  York  :  The  gentleman  from  Phila 
delphia  wants  to  know  why  a  different  course  should  be  pursued-from 
that  which  has  been  taken  with  other  reports.  This  report  contains 
within  it  a  mighty  matter  ;  and  is  this  Convention,  supposed  to  be 
composed  of  the  business  men  of  the  United  States,  to  adopt  such  a 
report  as  that  ?  I  know  that  some  on  my  side  of  the  house  believe 
that  the  balance  of  trade  should  represent  our  profit ;  and  if  that 
balance  of  trade  is  against  us,  we  are  doing  a  bad  business.  There 
fore  I  think  the  gentleman  from  Boston  is  right  in  asking  the  Com 
mittee  to  define  what  they  mean  by  "  the  balance  of  trade."  If  I 
send  abroad  one  hundred  dollars,  and  get  ninety  back,  the  balance  of 
trade  is  against  me  ;  but  still,  some  gentlemen,  I  believe,  think  it  is 


94  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

in  my  favor.  I  will  support  the  motion  of  the  gentleman  from 
Boston,  that  the  report  be  sent  back  to  the  Committee,  to  define 
precisely  what  they  mean. 

MR.  FORSYTH,  of  Troy  :  I  have  not  troubled  the  Conven 
tion,  thus  far,  with  any  remarks,  and  have  only  a  few  to  make  now. 
This  report  I  regard  as  unusual  in  its  form.  I  would  ask,  therefore, 
leave  to  second  the  motion  of  the  gentleman  from  Boston,  to  recommit 
for  the  definitions  called  for ;  or  else,  that  the  question  be  divided, 
and  the  vote  taken  on  the  several  propositions  contained  in  it.  I  do 
not  know  what  the  Committee  mean  by  "  the  balance  of  trade "  : 
and  there  are  other  propositions  in  this  report  which  I  should  like 
information  upon,  before  I  vote.  I  second  the  motion,  therefore,  for 
its  recommittal ;  and  if  that  motion  should  not  prevail,  I  give  notice 
of  a  motion  to  subdivide  the  propositions  contained  in  the  resolution, 
in  order  that  the  Convention  may  act  intelligently  upon  the  several 
propositions  contained  therein. 

Mr.  STRANAHAN  :  With  your  permission,  sir,  I  wish  to  state  a 
simple  fact,  which  will  be  found  within  the  experience  of  every  Com 
mittee  appointed  by  this  Convention.  We  had  our  difficulties,  such 
as  each  gentleman  on  this  floor  can  suggest ;  and  we  made  our 
report  in  the  form  of  a  resolution,  general  in  its  terms,  purposely 
avoiding  all  hard  words,  and  all  difficult  questions  which  gentlemen 
might  raise  touching  the  question  of  a  tariff.  Now,  I  hope  that  the 
house  can  do  better  than  the  Committee.  If  it  can,  I  shall  hail  with 
pleasure  its  success.  But  I  do  beg  to  say,  that  if  you  undertake  to 
divide  this  question,  you  will  find  difficulties  more  easily  suggested 
than  surmounted. 

Mr.  ROPES,  of  Boston  :  I  am  uncertain  in  what  shape  to 
put  an  amendment  which  I  desire  to  offer.  I  agree  entirely  with 
the  gentleman  from  Troy,  that  either  we  must  have  a  recommittal,  or 
a  vote  seriatim.  There  are  two  things,  at  least,  which  I  would  wish 
to  see  stricken  out ;  one  is  the  passage  which  speaks  of  making  the 
balance  of  trade  in  favor  of  this  country,  and  the  other  the  passage 
that  speaks  of  "  encouraging  the  importation  of  the  laborer,  instead 
of  the  fruits  of  his  labor."  I  would  much  rather  import  tea  and  silks 
from  China,  than  import  the  Chinese  ;  and  I  would  rather  import  a 
great  many  other  things  from  foreign  countries,  than  import  the 
half-starved  laborers, — as  they  are  sometimes  called, — who  are  en 
gaged  in  producing  them.  I  do  not  wish  to  be  turned  out  of  house 
and  home  by  foreign  laborers,  any  more  than  I  wish  the  balance  of 
trade  turned  against  this  country.  In  old  times,  it  was  supposed  that 


THE    OLD    "MERCANTILE    SYSTEM."  95 

gold  and  silver  formed  the  one  great  object  for  which  Irade  was  car- 
ried  on.  Any  nation  that  could  export  so  much  more  of  its  finished 
productions  than  it  imported  of  the  productions  of  other  countries  as 
to  bring  back  gold,  was  supposed  to  have  gained  a  great  advantage. 
But,  now  that  we  are  producing  gold  to  the  extent  of  I  do  not  know 
how  many  millions  annually,  in  California  and  elsewhere,  is  it  pro 
posed  that  we  shall  keep  it  all  in  this  country  forever,  and  that  we 
shall  go  on  importing  gold  from  other  countries  ?  That  is  what  u  the 
balance  of  trade  "  means.  Are  we  ready  to  take  that  position  ?  The 
whole  thing  is  superannuated.  We  do  not  want  any  such  language 
as  that  put  into  a  report  by  live  men  to-day.  I  hope,  instead  of  that, 
the  idea  will  be  adopted  that  has  been  endorsed  by  both  political 
parties  of  the  country,  that  the  object  of  a  tariff  is  to  obtain  as  large 
a  revenue  as  possible,  and  at  the  same  time  to  protect  industry. 
These  are  two  tangible  things,  which  we  all  understand  and  ap 
prove  ;  and  I  want  to  see  these  two  things  stated,  and  nothing  more, 
in  the  reports  which  are  sent  forth  from  this  Convention.  The  idea 
that  we  should  import  laborers,  instead  of  the  fruits  of  their  labor, — 
the  idea  that  we  should  want  the  balance  of  trade,  in  18G8,  in  our 
favor, — I  trusted  that  such  ideas  were  done  with  long  ago.  I  move 
the  recommitment  of  the  report,  with  instructions  to  strike  out  the 
obnoxious  phrases. 

Mr.  BENNETT  :  I  would  withdraw  the  report,  and  favor  its 
recommitment. 

Mr.  FRAZAR,  of  Cincinnati :  I  see  that  this  is  one  of  those 

questions  that  will  excite  a  great  deal  of  debate,  which  I  think  will 
result  in  very  little  good.  We  must  necessarily  have  a  high  tariff  to 
raise  revenue.  It  is,  therefore,  unnecessary  to  discuss  the  question 
here  further.  I  move,  therefore,  that  the  whole  subject  be  laid  upon 
the  table. 

Lost. 

Mr.  POTTER,  of  Philadelphia :  I  want  to  say  a  word  in 
opposition  to  the  motion  to  recommit.  I  had  the  honor  to  be  a  mem 
ber  of  the  Committee.  If  I  understand  the  object  of  the  recommittal, 
it  is  to  obviate  the  objections  which  have  been  raised  against  the 
report,  because  it  contains  certain  objectionable  words.  The  subject 
contained  in  this  resolution  was  very  thoroughly  and  carefully  dis 
cussed  by  the  gentlemen  constituting  the  Committee,  coming  from 
various  sections  of  the  country,  and  representing  all  the  various  views 
which  are  entertained  on  the  subject  of  a  tariff  or  no  tariff;  and  the 
resolution  which  has  been  reported  was  supposed  to  be  sufficiently 


96  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

conservative — (I  do  not  like  that  word  "conservative;")  I  would 
rather  say,  so  catholic  in  its  enunciation  of  principles  as  to  meet  the 
entire  approbation  of  this  Convention,  as  it  met  with  the  entire  appro 
bation  of  the  Committee.  The  report  did  not  contemplate  dictating 
to  Congress  what  should  be  its  action  on  this  question  of  a  tariff. 
The  report  in  its  recommendation,  leaves  the  whole  question  of  the 
tariff  to  be  settled  by  the  constituted  authorities  whose  duty  it  is  to 
settle  such  questions.  It  makes  no  pretence  of  dictating  to  Congress, 
on  the  subject  of  the  readjustment  of  duties  in  any  particular  form. 
It  is  general  in  its  expressions.  It  recognizes  the  fact,  that  the  duties 
on  imports  must  be  maintained  for  many  years  in  order  to  meet  the 
requirements  of  the  Government ;  and  it  simply  expresses  the  desire 
that  those  duties  should  be  so  adjured  as  to  protect  that  class  of 
manufactures  in  this  country  upon  which  labor  is  so  largely  expended. 
AY  ho  can  object  to  the  propriety  of  such  a  recommendation  as  that  ? 
Can  any  man  who  is  opposed  to  a  tariff  for  protection,  object  to  a 
resolution  recommending  Congress  to  discriminate  in  favor  of  those 
branches  of  manufactures  in  the  country  which  require  skilled  labor? 
This  meets  the  objection  that  is  raised  here,  that  this  report  recom 
mends  that  we  should  import  labor.  No  such  recommendation  is 
contained  in  the  resolution.  It  is  simply  an  expression  of  what  would 
be  the  result  of  the  adjustment  of  taxation,  as  it  is  proposed  to  be 
adjusted;  namely,  that  upon  those  branches  where  skilled  labor  is 
required,  duties  of  a  higher  class  should  be  imposed.  The  result  of 
that  would  be,  that  instead  of  the  importation  of  the  articles,  the 
skilled  labor  which  produces  those  articles  in  other  countries  would 
be  brought  into  our  country  ;  and  labor  is  the  basis  of  all  wealth  and 
of  all  prosperity.  This  resolution  looks  to  the  interests  of  the  whole 
country,  and  of  all  branches  of  industry.  Who  can  object  to  it, 
recognizing  as  it  does  that  there  is  an  union  of  interests  between  the 
agriculturist  and  the  manufacturer?  As  I,  in  my  way,  expressed  it 
in  Committee,  both  are  sailing  in  the  same  boat,  and  the  current 
which  gives  prosperity  to  the  one  gives  prosperity  to  the  other,  and 
the  adverse  winds  which  wreck  and  ruin  the  one  will  cause  the  wreck 
and  ruin  of  the  other.  All  the  interests  of  our  country,  agricultural, 
manufacturing  and  commercial,  are  bound  up  together  and  go  to 
gether,  and  the  prosperity  of  one  is  the  prosperity  of  the  others. 
This  resolution  recognizes  that  fact,  and  recommends  that  this  Con 
vention  should  so  declare  by  its  adoption.  Its  recommittal  would  not 
avail  to  change,  in  a  single  iota,  the  recommendations  which  it  con 
tains.  It  is  broad ;  it  is  national ;  it  is  based  upon  common  sense 
and  propriety,  and  looks  to  the  best  interests  of  the  country ;  and  I 


DIRECT  IMPORTATIONS  TO  THE  INTERIOR.     97 

hope  the  motion  to  recommit  will  not  prevail,  but  that  the  resolution 

t  as  I  believe  it  is,  — as  perfect  as  it  can  be  made,  — will  pass 

body,  and  stand  as  the  recommendation  of  this  Convention;  a 

catholic  resolution,  looking  to  the  interest  of  all  branches  of  industry, 

east,  west,  north  and  south. 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  the  motion  to  re 
commit,  and  it  was  lost.  The  motion  to  accept  and 
adopt  the  report  then  passed. 

Mr.  WETIIERILL  offered  the  following  resolution, 
and  moved  its  adoption : 

WHEREAS,  The  cities  of  Boston,  Philadelphia,  Cincinnati  and  St. 
Louis,  have,  through  their  Boards  of  Trade,  desired  a  change  in  the 
laws  regulating  foreign  importations  ;  therefore 

Resolved,  By  this  Convention,  that  in  our  opinion  Congress  should, 
by  necessary  legislation,  secure  such  change  in  the  laws  regulating 
foreign  importations  as  shall  authorize  invoices  of  merchandise  arriving 
at  one  port,  but  designed  for  another,  to  be  directly  forwarded  from 
the  ship's  side  to  the  ultimate  ports  and  custom  houses  for  entry, 
and  without  bonding,  warehousing  or  other  detention  at  the  port  of 
arrival. 

Mr.  HlXCKEN,  of  New  York  :  I  have,  perhaps,  more  famil 
iarity  with  the  practice  of  the  Government  in  relation  to  importations 
than  many  of  the  gentlemen  here,  and  it  is  my  desire  that  the  Con 
vention  should  not  adopt  such  a  resolution.  It  would  be  laughed  at 
by  the  authorities  at  Washington  as  impracticable,  and  I  hope  that 
the  good  sense  of  this  Convention  will  prevent  the  adoption  by  it  of 
any  suggestions  except  such  as  are  reasonable  and  can  be  carried  out. 
The  idea  that  the  Government  of  the  United  States  will  permit  goods 
intended  for  the  interior  cities  to  be  transported  to  tliose  cities  without 
bonds,  without  any  protection,  is  absurd.  They  will  not  let  them  go, 
even  from  the  ship  to  the  Avarehouse  without  bond.  They  are  under 
bond  when  they  are  transported  from  the  ship  to  the  Government 
warehouse ;  and  do  you  suppose  that  a  Government  so  jealous  of  all 
these  points,  will  permit  goods  to  be  transported  thousands  of  miles 
from  the  port  of  importation,  before  they  are  even  examined  ?  I 
think  the  thing  is  impracticable,  and  therefore  the  Convention  should 
not  adopt  it.  My  experience,  and  I  think  every  importer  here  will 
agree  with  me,  teaches  me  that  the  thing  cannot  be  done  without  a 

13 


98  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

change  of  the  entire  revenue  system  of  the  United  States,  and  I  do 
not  think  we  are  prepared  to  make  such  a  change. 

Mr.  Fox,  of  St.  Louis, — (Mr.  BAGLEY,  of  Detroit,  in 

the  Chair)  :  I  stand  on  the  floor  to  second  the  resolution  offered 
by  the  gentleman  from  Philadelphia.  The  resolution  is  an  important 
one  to  the  interior  cities  of  this  country.  For  many  years  we  have 
collected  our  customs  under  revenue  laws  calculated  and  managed  for 
the  cities  on  the  seaboard,  and  they  have  spread  the  commerce,  the 
wealth,  and  the  business  of  the  country  in  the  interior.  Within 
twenty-four  months,  the  trade  of  the  East  will  come  by  way  of  the 
West ;  the  trans-continental  lines  of  railway  will  be  established  within 
that  time,  from  ocean  to  ocean.  The  West  comes  here  to-day,  Mr. 
Chairman,  and  desires  some  change  in  the  laws  for  the  collection  of 
customs.  All  we  ask  is  a  simple  change,  which  the  Treasury  De 
partment  at  Washington  is  not  prepared  to  dispute  by  argument. 
We  simply  ask  for  the  benefit  of  the  great  steamship  lines  that  run 
into  the  ports  of  New  York,  Baltimore,  Boston  and  Portland,  that 
the  most  expeditious  and  economical  method  may  be  adopted  for  the 
purpose  of  transporting  foreign  merchandise  from  the  vessel  to  the 
car,  without  unnecessary  delay,  without  unnecessary  expense,  and 
without  the  intervention  of  the  superior  knowledge  of  a  New  York 
broker.  (Applause.)  I  intend  no  disrespect  to  New  York  or  to  any 
other  city  on  the  seaboard ;  but  gentlemen  importing  well  know  the 
delays  incident  to  the  importation  of  merchandise.  They  well  know 
that  it  takes  a  month,  sometimes,  to  get  eight  or  ten  packages 
through  the  Custom  House  at  New  York ;  and  that,  with  large  ex 
pense  for  carting,  warehousing,  etc.,  and  for  the  employment  of  a 
broker,  competent  and  expert  in  doing  business  with  the  Government 
agents  at  New  York.  (Laughter.) 

This,  with  the  West,  is  a  practical  question ;  and  all  we  ask  now 
is,  to  have  the  la\v  so  simplified,  that  with  regard  to  all  kinds  of  im 
ported  goods,  the  cities  of  Chicago,  Cincinnati,  St.  Louis,  Louisville, 
and  all  those  large  centres  of  trade  inland  may  have  the  same  facili 
ties  for  doing  business  that  you  who  reside  on  the  seaboard  now  have. 
To  state  it  in  a  few  words,  it  will  be  simply  this :  To  so  amend  the 
laws  for  the  collection  of  revenue  that  property  may  be  transferred 
from  the  vessel  to  the  railroad  car,  or,  if  at  New  Orleans,  to  the  river 
steamboat  lines,  a  proper  officer  of  the  Government  superintending 
the  transfer,  and  checking  the  merchandise  on  the  bill  of  lading,  and 
the  railroad  or  steamboat  transportation  lines  giving  a  bond  that  they 
will  deliver  it  to  the  surveyor  of  the  port  to  which  it  is  destined  in  the 
order  and  condition  in  which  it  is  received,  leaving  the  examination 


DIRECT    IMPORTATIONS    TO    THE    WEST.  99 

of  the  packages,  the  appraisement,  and  the  collection  of  duties,  to  the 
sworn  officer  of  the  Government  residing  in  the  interior.  (Applause.) 
Now,  sir,  the  only  objection  that  Mr.  GUTHRIE,  the  gentleman  who 
presides  with  so  much  dignity  and  such  long  experience  over  that 
department  of  the  Treasury  at  Washington  could  offer  to  the  propo 
sition  which  we  of  the  West  made,  was  that  there  was  danger  that 
Uncle  Sam  would  be  cheated  out  of  the  duties.  I  put  this  question 
to  the  gentleman,  whether  the  Government  was  any  better  secured 
by  the  carman  in  New  York  who  moved  the  merchandise  three  or 
four  miles  on  his  dray  to  the  bonded  warehouse,  where  it  is  received 
by  a  gentleman  who  is  paid  fifty  or  sixty  dollars  a  month  to  watch  it, 
than  it  would  be  by  the  bond  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad 
Company  and  its  employees,  or  of  the  Erie  Railway,  or  of  the  Balti 
more  and  Ohio  Railroad  Company,  or  of  the  Pennsylvania  Railroad 
Company  agreeing  in  good  faith  to  deliver  that  freight  in  like  good 
order  as  received,  to  the  cities  of  the  interior  ?  (Applause.)  I  asked 
the  gentleman  if,  under  that  reasoning,  he  would  have  issued  United 
States  bonds  or  greenbacks,  because  they  might  be  counterfeited? 
He  did  not  offer  many  arguments  in  opposition  to  this  proposition, 
and  I  came  away  feeling  that  Mr.  GUTHRIE  would  use  his  influence 
towards  obtaining  the  privileges  which  the  cities  of  the  West  were 
asking  at  the  hands  of  the  Government. 

Mr.  Chairman,  I  thank  the  Convention  for  the  opportunity  of  offer 
ing  these  few  remarks  upon  the  question,  and  I  would  like  to  see  the 
men  of  the  seaboard  shake  hands  with  the  men  of  the  West,  and  adopt 
the  resolution  unanimously.  (Loud  applause.) 

Mr.  OSGOOD,  Of  Salem  :  I  believe  it  costs  now  about  twenty- 
five  per  cent,  to  collect  the  revenue  of  the  Government,  and  under 
this  proposed  plan,  1  think  it  would  cost  one  hundred  per  cent.,  and 
there  would  be  nothing  left  for  the  Government.  We  must  have  a 
Custom  House  at  every  interior  town,  and  a  collector  in  every  district 
to  collect  the  revenue.  There  would  be  nothing  left.  I  would  sooner 
go  for  free  trade. 

Mr.  NAZEO  :   It  seems  to  me  that  the  gentleman  from  Salem 
entirely  misconceives  the  proposition.     If  I  understand  the  resolution 
correctly,  it  is  that  the  goods  shall  be  landed  and  sent  to  their  place 
of  destination,  but  that  place  must  be  a  port  of  entry ;  otherwise,  they 
might  have  to  be  sent  to  every  city  and  town.     Instead  of  cai 
greater  expense,  it  will  reduce  the  expense  very  much.     (Apptt 
I  think  it  will  obviate  one  of  the  greatest  difficulties  that  has 
experienced   in  the  importation  of  goods.     I  think  it  will  save 


100          COMMERCIAL  CONVENTION. 

sending  of  goods  outside  the  United  States  by  the  Grand  Trunk 
route,  and  in  other  directions,  as  is  done  now,  to  prevent  the  very 
delay  that  is  complained  of;  and  I  believe,  sir,  that  so  far  from  any 
greater  frauds  being  committed,  the  goods  will  be  quite  as  safe  on  the 
lines  of  railroad,  as  has  been  suggested,  in  charge  of  United  States 
officers,  as  they  would  be  in  any  other  position  after  their  arrival  in 
the  country.  I  have  not  given  the  subject  much  thought,  never 
having  been  directly  interested  in  it,  but  the  plan  proposed  com 
mends  itself  highly  to  my  judgment.  I  believe  it  will  be  one  of 
the  most  fruitful  sources  of  benefit  to  the  great  business  interests  of 
the  country,  East  and  West,  that  could  be  devised.  It  is  true,  it  may 
affect  some  local  interests  injuriously ;  undoubtedly  it  will.  It  may 
affect  us  here  in  Boston.  Possibly  there  may  not  be  so  many  goods 
sent  to  Boston,  or  Philadelphia,  or  New  York ;  but  that  is  a  local 
interest,  which,  as  a  member  of  this  Convention,  acting  for  the  whole 
country,  I  should  certainly  waive.  (Applause.)  I  should  be  very 
glad  to  see  any  measure  initiated  which  would  be  likely  to  benefit  the 
West,  for,  as  I  had  the  honor  to  state  the  other  day,  I  believe  that 
any  measure  which  enures  to  the  benefit  of  any  portion  of  our  great 
country  will  eventually  enure  to  the  benefit  of  the  whole.  If  we  on 
the  seaboard  have  any  local  interest  that  would  lead  us  to  desire  to 
retain  the  present  revenue  system,  I  believe  we  should  waive  it,  in 
view  of  the  great  benefit  that  I  believe  will  result  to  the  whole 
country  by  the  adoption  of  a  system  permitting  imported  goods  to  be 
sent  to  their  place  of  destination  without  this  great  delay.  And  I 
believe  the  Government,  directly  as  well  as  indirectly,  —  and  indi 
rectly  much  more  largely  than  directly,  —  will  reap  great  pecuniary 
gain,  and  that  the  saving  of  expense  will  be  enormous.  I  was  aston 
ished  to  hear  the  remark  of  the  gentleman  from  Salem,  that  this 
would  increase  expenses.  I  do  not  believe  we  are  so  corrupt.  I  do 
not  believe  that,  even  if  people  are  trusted,  there  is  going  to  be  so 
great  an  amount  of  fraud  committed,  as  he  seems  to  anticipate ;  and 
certainly,  if  it  be  fairly  and  honestly  carried  out,  no  gentleman  can 
say  that  it  will  not  be  the  means  of  reducing  the  expense.  And  I 
believe  that  it  will  be  carried  out  honestly.  I  had  the  honor  to  be 
present  at  the  conference  of  the  Committee  on  Taxation  of  our  Board 
with  the  authorities  at  Washington,  and  it  was  suggested,  that  if  our 
plan  were  adopted,  the  people  would  cheat  the  Government.  I  said 
1  believed  that  the  people  were  not  so  dishonest ;  and  so  I  believe 
now.  The  great  mass  of  the  business  people  of  this  country  are 
essentially  honest.  I  believe,  therefore,  that  these  goods  can  be 
transported  in  the  way  proposed,  and  that  within  twelve  months  after 


DIRECT    IMPORTATIONS    TO    THE    WEST.  101 

the  enactment  of  the  law,  the  whole  country  will  acknowledge  the 
great  benefit  which  will  have  resulted  from  it. 

Mr.  BABCOCK,  of  New  York  :  Whatever  may  have  been 
thought  of  the  action  of  the  Convention  on  previous  days,  I  think 
gentlemen  will  all  admit  that  we  are  making  very  good  time  this 
morning.  If  I  understand  the  resolution  passed  a  few  moments  ago, 
it  virtually  tends,  if  carried  out,  to  stop  the  foreign  trade  of  the 
country ;  and  the  resolution  now  before  us  is  of  the  same  character. 
You  seek  to  set  aside  the  tariff  laws  imposed  by  Congress,  under 
which  no  New  York  importer,  or  any  other  importer,  can  obtain  his 
goods  without  the  delay  incident  to  the  operation  of  the  law  ;  and 
while,  for  one,  I  would  gladly  favor  any  project  which  would  do 
away  with  these  cumbersome  regulations,  I  suppose  there  is  no  way 
in  which  it  can  be  done.  Even  with  these  stringent  regulations,  in 
the  City  of  New  York,  and  probably  elsewhere,  stupendous  frauds 
are  practised  upon  the  Government.  Large  amounts  of  goods  are 
brought  in,  upon  which  no  duty  is  paid,  or  very  much  less  than  is 
due.  I  would  gladly  favor  any  project  under  which  the  people  of 
the  great  West  could  receive  their  goods  direct  from  the  ships  ;  but 
I  see  no  way  in  which  the  resolution  that  has  been  offered  can  be 
carried  out.  You  virtually  say  to  us,  "  Would  that  we  were  alto 
gether  like  you,  except  these  bonds."  I  believe  that  is  not  exactly 
the  language  of  the  Apostle  Paul,  but  somewhat  like  it.  Now,  as  to 
your  getting  goods  without  bonds  — 

A  Delegate  :  We  don't  ask  it. 

Mr.  BABCOCK  :  If  I  understood  Mr.  Fox  correctly,  he  spoke 
as  if  he  understood  that  the  carman  took  charge  of  the  goods  from 
the  ship  to  the  warehouse,  and  that  the  Government  took  the  risk  of 
the  honesty  of  that  carman.  Such  is  not  the  fact.  Not  a  package  of 
goods  is  discharged  from  any  vessel  in  the  City  of  New  York  until  a 
bond  has  been  signed  and  approved  by  the  proper  authority  at  the 
Custom  House  ;  and  with  such  restrictions,  there  is  not  an  importer 
in  the  City  of  New  York  who  would  not  vote  that  every  Western 
importer  should  have  the  same  opportunity  to  obtain  his  goods  that 
he  has. 

Mr.  FOX  :  I  did  not  state  that  the  goods  were  not  bonded  while 
being  transported  to  the  warehouse.  We  do  not  ask  to  have  the  law 
any  different  for  us  than  for  the  Eastern  importers.  We  wish  to 
give  bonds,  or  to  have  the  railroad  companies  give  bonds  to  deliver 
the  goods  safely  at  the  port  of  entry  inland. 


102  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

Mr.  BABCOCK  :  I  understood  the  gentleman  to  say  that  the 
carman  had  the  custody  of  the  goods  from  the  vessel  to  the  public 
store,  and  that  during  that  time  the  risk  of  his  fidelity  was  taken  by 
the  Government,  which  is  not  the  case.  If  you  can  get  Commodore 
VANDERBILT  to  say  that  he  will  give  a  bond  every  time  you  want 
one,  and  that  the  agents  of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad  shall  go 
to  the  vessel  and  get  the  goods  that  are  to  be  transported  over  that 
line,  I  shall  be  glad  to  have  you  do  it.  I  want  you  to  have  every 
facility  possible. 

A  delegate  from  Philadelphia  stated  that  the  Penn 
sylvania  Railroad  would  agree  to  do  this. 

Mr.  Fox  :  When  we  take  the  merchandise  from  the  vessel  to 
the  cars,  to  go  to  the  interior  c'.ties,  we  give  a  bond  to  the  transpor 
tation  line. 

Mr.  HERSEY,  of  Portland  :  I  desire  to  say  simply  one  word 
upon  this  matter,  and  that  is,  that  we  in  the  City  of  Portland  are 
practically  carrying  out  the  very  idea  which  is  conveyed  in  this 
resolution  ;  and,  sir,  if  other  cities, — allow  me  to  say  to  the  great 
West, — have  not  these  facilities,  the  City  of  Portland  has  them. 
The  goods  by  the  English  steamers  are  rolled  into  the  Government 
warehouse,  and  rolled  through  it  into  the  cars  of  the  Grand  Trunk 
Railway,  without  an  hour's  delay ;  and  before  they  could  get  through 
other  custom  houses,  those  goods  are  delivered  at  the  West.  It  is 
clear  from  this,  Mr.  President,  that  it  is  practicable  to  carry  out  this 
idea  of  giving  facilities  to  the  West,  which  ought  to  do  a  large  busi 
ness,  and  in  order  to  do  it  speedily,  facilities  should  be  given  them  to 
do  that  business.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  I  will  ask  Mr.  Fox  if  he  wants,  for  the 
cities  of  the  West,  any  advantages  over  New  York  ? 

Mr.  FOX  :   I  will  say,  without  hesitation,  we  do  not. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  Then  I  support  the  resolution.  In  New 
York  we  live  by  our  shipping,  by  our  commerce ;  and  we  do  not 
care  anything  about  our  Custom  House  regulations.  The  West 
should  be  put  upon  the  same  footing  with  ourselves. 

The  question  was  then  put,  and  the  resolution  was 
adopted. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  offered  the  following  resolution, 
and  moved  its  adoption  : 


SPECIFIC    DUTIES.  103 

Resolved,  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  Convention,  one  rail  inter- 
oceanic  communication  will  not  he  adequate  to  the  demands  of  foreign 
commerce  and  the  traffic  and  travel  of  this  country  ;  and  that  Con 
gress  should  at  once  provide  for  the  construction  and  completion  of 
two  more  lines  of  railway  communication  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Mr.  CLARK,  of  Cleveland,  moved  the  reference  of 
the  resolution  to  the  Committee  on  Transportation, 
and  it  was  so  referred. 

Mr.  BRUNOT,  of  Pittsburgh,  offered  the  following 
resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  in  any  readjustment  of  the  tariff  laws,  specific 
duties,  whenever  practicable,  and  home  valuations,  in  cases  where  ad 
valorem  duties  are  deemed  important,  are  necessary,  in  order  to 
secure  to  the  Government  its  just  dues,  and  to  the  industry  of  the 
country  and  to  honest  importers  protection  against  the  injuries  they 
suffer  in  consequence  of  evasions  of  and  frauds  upon  the  home 
revenue. 


Mr.  BRUXOT  :  I  move  the  adoption  of  this  resolution  ;  and  I 
wish  to  say,  that  in  offering  a  resolution  of  this  character,  I  do  it 
under  the  impression  that  the  various  delegations  which  have  assem 
bled  here,  have  come,  not  for  the  purpose  of  constituting  themselves 
a  debating  society,  —  not  for  the  purpose  of  going  back  and  discus 
sing  the  subjects  upon  which  we  have  had  the  precedent  of  congres 
sional  action  for  so  many  years,  but  that  each  gentleman  has  been 
sent  here  on  account  of  his  supposed  fixed  opinions  upon  certain 
subjects  likely  to  come  before  us,  upon  which  he  is  prepared  to  vote. 
We  of  the  West  (at  least,  so  far  West  as  I  happen  to  come  from,) 
have  sent  delegates  here  upon  that  idea  ;  and,  sir,  while  much  might 
be  said  in  favor  of  this  resolution,  I  take  it  for  granted  that  the  facts 
which  have  been  spread  upon  the  records  of  the  debates  of  Congress 
are  in  the  minds  of  most  of  the  members  of  this  Convention.  I 
propose,  then,  that  we  vote  upon  this  resolution,  without  taking  up 
the  time  of  the  Convention  myself  in  discussing  it,  and  hoping  that 
there  will  be  no  discussion  upon  it. 

The  resolution  was  adopted. 

Mr.  BLATCIIFORD,  of  Chicago,  presented  the  follow 
ing  resolution,  which  was  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Currency  and  Finance  : 


104  COMMERCIAL    COXVEXTIOX. 

Resolved,  That  as  specie  is  the  only  sound,  available,  and  univer 
sally  recognized  measure  and  standard  of  value,  and  as  the  restora 
tion  of  this  standard  is  essential  to  our  industrial  and  commercial 
prosperity,  it  is  most  desirable  that  the  resumption  of  specie  payments 
be  effected  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  consistent  with  the 
public  good. 

Mr.  FORSYTE,  of  Troy,  introduced  the  following 
resolution,  and  moved  its  reference  to  the  Committee 
on  Currency  and  Finance  : 

Resolved,  As  the  sense  of  this  Convention,  that  it  is  the  duty  of 
Congress,  in  all  its  legislation,  to  maintain  a  constant  tendency  toward 
the  earliest  possible  resumption  of  specie  payments ;  that  such  a  ten 
dency  furnishes  the  only  hope  of  ultimate  and  permanent  relief  to  all 
the  disordered  relations  of  business ;  and  that  no  disaster  is  now  to  be 
so  much  feared  as  further  inflation,  a  little  more  tariff,  and  a  few 
more  subsidies. 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  I  move  an  amendment,  that  it  be  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Miscellaneous  Matters ;  for  it  seems  to  be  of 
that  character  itself. 

Mr.  HlXCKEX  :  To  get  rid  of  the  question  at  once,  and  dispose 
of  it  as  far  as  this  Convention  is  concerned,  I  move  the  adoption  of 
the  resolution. 

Mr.  STRANAHAX  :  I  wish  simply  to  remark,  that  I  would 
gladly  vote  for  the  resolution,  if  the  last  paragraph  was  stricken  out. 
I  think  as  it  stands,  it  is  not  quite  courteous. 

Mr.  WARD,  of  Boston  :  I  move  that  the  resolution  lie  upon 
the  table ;  and  I  do  so,  because  we  have  just  adopted  a  resolution  in 
relation  to  the  resumption  of  specie  payments,  which  was  a  broad 
resolution,  upon  which  we  could  all  agree. 

Ml*.  NAZBO  :  I  hope  the  motion  will  not  prevail,  but  that  the 
resolution  will  be  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Finance. 

The  question  was  then  taken,  and  the  resolution 
was  laid  on  the  tahle. 


REPORT    OF    THE    COMMITTEE    OX    TAXATION.       105 


REPORT   OF   THE    COMMITTEE   ON   TAXATION. 

Mr.  BIGELOW,  of  Boston,  presented  the  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Taxation. 

WHEREAS,  Domestic  products  constitute  the  basis  of  nine-tenths 
of  the  internal  trade  of  the  country  and  furnish  the  means  of  sustain 
ing  its  foreign  commerce,  thus  rendering  an  extensive,  varied  and 
active  domestic  industry  essential  to  its  proper  commercial  prosperity ; 
and 

WHEREAS,  The  capital  required  to  initiate  and  sustain  industrial 
enterprise  commands  on  an  average  double  the  rate  of  interest  here 
that  it  does  in  the  great  industrial  nations  abroad,  which  higher  rate 
of  interest  is  inseparable  from  the  condition  of  a  country  constantly 
absorbing  capital  in  new  settlements  and  improving  virgin  lands  ; 
and 

WHEREAS,  For  similar  reasons,  as  well  as  for  the  higher  social 
and  educational  requirements  of  our  industrial  population,  the  rates 
of  wages  of  labor  inevitably  rule  comparatively  high ;  and 

WHEREAS,  Our  domestic  industry  cannot  sustain  itself  in  com 
petition  with  the  foreign  production  of  commodities  of  easy  trans 
portation,  unless  placed  upon  an  equality  in  the  command  of  capital 
and  labor,  and  exemption  from  internal  taxation;  or,  unless  the  dis 
parity  against  us  in  these  respects  is  neutralized  by  suitable  legislative 
provisions ;  therefore 

Resolved,  That  while  the  General  Government  provides  revenue 
for  its  support  by  duties  on  imports  and  tonnage  duties,  sound  policy 
demands  such  an  adjustment  of  these  duties  as  to  equalize  the  dis 
parities  in  the  cost  of  capital  and  labor  between  our  own  and  com- 
petin-  nations,  that  thereby  the  industrial  and  commercial  mterc 
of  the  whole  country  may  be  promoted,  labor  and  skill  receive  their 
just  reward,  and  the  arts,  civilization  and  the  civil  power 

be  extended. 

Resolved,  That  as  the  present  internal  revenue  tax  on  useful  pr< 
auctions  is  depressing  our  domestic  industry,  shipping  and  transporta 
tion  interests,  and  is  absorbing  the  capital  by  winch  they  are  s 
it  should  be  speedily  removed. 

Resolved,  That  as  a  preliminary  to  a  reducbon  of  taxation  the 
expenditures  of  the  Government  should  be   reduced  m  every  prac 
ticable  way,  and   effective  measures  be  taken   to  .nsurc  the, 
execution  of  the  revenue  laws. 


ii 


10G  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

Resolved,  That  in  our  opinion  the  revenue  received  from  import 
dutie^  from  licenses,  legacies  and  stamps,  together  with  a  tax  that 
would  not  be  oppressive,  upon  spirits,  tobacco  and  other  articles,  de 
nominated  luxuries,  would  be  ample  to  defray  the  expenses  of  the 
Government  if  economically  administered. 

Resolved,  That  Congress  be  and  they  are  hereby  requested  to  lay 
an  internal  revenue  tax  on  such  articles  only  as  are  indicated  in  the 
foregoing  resolution. 

The  resolutions  were  adopted  unanimously,  with 
much  applause. 

Mr.  TAIT,  of  Louisville,  presented  the  following 
resolution,  and  moved  its  adoption : 

WHEREAS,  The  speedy  reduction  of  the  taxes  and  the  resumption 
of  specie  payments  are  the  objects  desired  by  the  American  people ; 
and 

WHEREAS,  They  can  only  be  obtained  by  wise  legislation,  stimu 
lating  labor  where  it  can  be  made  most  productive,  and  by  practising 
a  most  rigid  economy  in  all  the  departments  of  the  Government ; 
therefore 

Resolved,  That  we  respectfully  but  earnestly  urge  Congress  to  loan 
the  Cotton-growing  States  $20,000,000  for  one  year,  to  be  secured 
by  a  lien  on  the  growing  crop  of  the  present  year,  or  such  other 
securities  as  may  be  deemed  sufficient. 

Mr.  WETIIERILL  moved  to  lay  the  resolution  on  the 
table. 

Mr.  TAIT  :  It  is  known  that  the  Southern  States  are  not  repre 
sented  here  to  any  extent.  Once  the  South  occupied  a  proud  position 
in  the  legislature  of  the  country ;  now  she  has  no  one  to  speak  for 
her ;  and  we  appeal  to  your  sense  of  justice,  to  your  kindly  feeling. 
We  ask  you  to  be  kind  to  the  South,  as  you  have  been  kind  to  her 
delegates  whom  she  has  sent  here.  You  are  anxious  to  hasten  the 
time  when  specie  payments  will  be  resumed,  and  you  will  need  the 
productions  of  that  fertile  country  to  aid  you  in  securing  the  resump 
tion  of  specie  payments.  I  know  that  our  influence,  at  present,  is 
limited ;  but  as  a  conquered  people,  as  a  people  whose  fields  have 
been  laid  waste,  whose  homes  have  been  made  desolate,  and  whose 
spirits  have  been  crushed,  we  ask  of  this  Convention  the  adoption  of 
the  resolution.  If  such  aid  could  be  extended,  it  would  tend  to  soothe 


RELIEF    TO    THE    SOUTHERN    STATES.  107 

the  feelings  of  those  who  have  not,  perhaps,  been  yet  soothed  since 
the  issue  of  the  late  war.  I  know  that  the  subject"  embraced  in  the 
resolution  has  been  considered  by  Congress,  but  I  want  an  expression 
from  this  Convention.  I  want  to  know  the  sentiments  of  the  mer 
chants  throughout  the  country.  All  the  business  that  has  been  done 
here,  thus  far,  has  looked  to  the  interests  of  the  East  or  of  the  West ; 
the  Southern  States  have  not  been  noticed.  In  the  resolution  lately 
adopted,  Louisville  was  not  named,  in  connection  with  the  other  great 
cities  of  the  West.  Why  should  she  be  so  ignored  ?  Kentucky  is  a 
State  yet  in  fhe  Union,  and  never  was  out ;  and  I  ask  that  you  will 
at  least  compliment  the  delegates  to  this  Convention  from  that  State, 
by  adopting  this  resolution. 

Mr.  BRUXOT  :  I  appreciate  the  appeal  which  the  gentleman 
has  made  from  the  Southern  States.  I  appreciate  the  fact  which  he 
mentions,  of  the  desolation  of  their  fields,  and  of  the  terrible  trouble 
which  now  exists  there.  I  do  not  believe  there  was  a  man  in  the 
whole  North  who  was  more  delighted  to  see  those  fields  desolated 
than  I  was.  I  believe  in  the  justice  and  the  righteousness  of  all  that 
has  come  upon  them.  But  now,  sir,  when  the  conflict  is  all  past,  I 
believe  in  doing  everything  we  can  to  bring  back  our  erring  brethren 
to  the  right.  (Applause.)  With  that  view  I  do  not  rise  to  advocate 
the  resolution,  but  to  ask  that  it  may  have  a  respectful  reference  to 
the  proper  Committee.  I  hope  the  gentleman  will  withdraw  his 
motion  to  lay  on  the  table,  and  permit  the  resolution  to  be  referred. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER,  of  St.  Louis  :  I  do  not  want  this  Con 
vention  to  pass  this  matter  over  without  thinking  about  it.  If  the 
business  men  here  will  give  this  subject  a  careful  consideration,  they 
will  find  that  it  is  one  of  the  great  questions  that  ought  to  come  before 
this  Convention.  The  war  is  over.  The  South  is  desolated ;  we  all 
know  it ;  or,  at  least,  we  do,  in  St.  Louis.  Many  of  our  people  have 
gone  there  and  have  attempted  to  raise  cotton.  We  know  what  the 
effects  of  the  efforts  of  the  last  two  years  have  been.  We  know  that 
the  South  cannot  recuperate  without  help  from  somewhere.  The 
capitalists  of  the  North  are  not  willing  to  send  their  money  down 
there ;  they  are  not  willing  to  risk  similar  losses  to  those  they  have 
suffered  during  the  past  two  years.  The  people  of  the  South  are  too 
poor  to  continue  their  cotton  planting.  Now,  sir,  I  believe  that  the 
best  thing  this  country  can  do,  —  the  best  investment  that  can  be 
made,  is  to  loan  to  the  Southern  States  twenty  millions  of  dollars. 
Throw  such  restrictions  round  it  as  are  necessary  to  insure  its  coming 
back  ao-ain.  Something  must  be  done  to  help  the  Southern  people. 


108          COMMERCIAL  CONVENTION. 

I  have  lived  a  long  time  in  the  southwest.  I  have  never  lived  further 
south  than  Missouri,  but  I  have  been  pretty  thoroughly  identified  with 

the  Southern  people,  and  have  a  strong  feeling  of  affection  for  them ; 
and  anything  that  I  can  do  to  help  them  out  of  their  trouble,  I  will 
gladly  do.  I  did  all  I  could  to  put  down  the  rebellion.  I  thought 
they  were  wrong  in  entering  into  it,  and  fought  against  them  while 
they  were  in  it;  but  now  I  will  raise  my  voice  and  do  all  I  can  in 
every  way  to  get  them  out  of  the  trouble  which  they  have  got  them 
selves  into.  (Applause.)  I  appeal  to  you  to  pass  this  resolution, 
saying  to  Congress  that  this  Convention,  representing  all  parts  of  this 
great  country,  feel  that  it  is  magnanimous  and  right  for  this  people, — 
that  is,  the  people  of  the  United  States, — to  lend  money  to  those  who 
are  "  flat  broke,"  and  to  help  them  out  of  the  trouble  they  are  now  in, 
because  they  are  our  brothers. 

Mr.  NAZHO  :  I  concur  in  the  views  that  have  been  expressed 
by  the  preceding  speakers.  I  most  earnestly  hope  that  this  Conven 
tion  will  adopt  a  very  liberal  policy  in  regard  to  the  South.  As  has 
been  said  by  the  gentleman  on  my  right,  we  can  say  here  in  Boston, — 
and  I  presume  this  city  does  not  need  any  endorsement  on  my  part, 
— that  we  went  forward  as  firmly  and  as  strongly  as  any  community 
in  the  land  in  putting  down  the  rebellion.  We  determined  to  do  all 
we  could  to  put  it  down ;  but,  as  the  gentleman  has  truly  remarked, 
we  want  now  to  take  a  broad,  comprehensive  and  liberal  view.  We 
want  now  to  gather  up  the  fragments,  and  to  pass  over  as  leniently 
as  we  can  the  errors,  even  the  crimes  which  we  think  have  been  com 
mitted  against  the  whole  country.  (Applause.)  Sir,  I  am  strongly 
in  favor  of  pursuing  some  liberal  policy  in  regard  to  them ;  but  I  do 
not  know  that  I  should  be  in  favor  of  the  particular  resolution  that 
has  been  offered.  I  hope  that  this  Convention  will  not  take  up  any 
resolution  of  such  an  important  character  and  pass  it  in  a  crude  form, 
or  without  due  reflection.  I  think,  therefore,  that  the  proper  course 
to  be  pursued  in  this  case  is  to  refer  the  resolution  to  the  Committee 
on  Currency  and  Finance.  They  will  jrive  it  a  full  examination,  and 
we  shall  have  the  results  of  their  deliberations ;  and  we  can  finally 
adopt  it  or  reject  it,  as  we  please.  I  therefore  move  that  it  be  re 
ferred  to  that  Committee. 

Mr.  WARD,  of  Boston  :  I  wish  to  offer  an  amendment  to 
that  proposition  —  that  it  be  referred  to  a  Special  Committee  of  one 
from  each  delegation,  and  that  the  gentleman  who  offered  the  resolu 
tion  be  Chairman  of  the  Committee. 

Mr.  SOUDER,  of  Philadelphia :    I  hope  that  will  not  be 

done.     The  appointment  of  a  Special  Committee  will  certainly  cause 


THE  DESTITUTION  OF  THE  SOUTH.       109 

delay.  The  Committee  on  Currency  and  Finance  is  really  the 
proper  Committee.  With  the  exception  of  the  portion  in  regard  to 
loaning  twenty  millions  of  dollars,  the  resolution  has  already  gone, 
in  substance,  to  that  same  Committee  ;  and  I  do  hope  the  Convention 
will  not  create  another  Committee  upon  the  subject. 

Mr.  ATKINSON,  Of  Boston  :  If  I  were  to  make  any  motion 
with  regard  to  the  resolution,  I  should  move  its  reference  to  the 
Committee  on  Agriculture.  I  look  upon  this  attempt  to  obtain  a  loan 
for  the  South  as  the  last  struggle  of  the  plantation  system,  which,  in 
my  judgment,  was  doomed  by  the  war.  Twenty  millions  would  con 
tinue  the  barbarism  of  the  South  for  part  of  a  year,  perhaps.  I 
hope  the  resolution  will  have  a  respectful  hearing ;  but  I  trust  we 
shall  soon  come  to  a  condition  of  things  (which  I  hear  is  already  the 
case  in  Georgia)  when  one  man,  with  the  capital  of  a  spade  and  an 
acre  of  ground,  may  make  four  bales  of  cotton. 

Mr.  LlONBERGEK,  of  St.  Louis  :  As  a  member  of  the 
Finance  Committee,  I  would  state  that  that  Committee  has  about  as 
much  as  it  can  do.  I  would  be  glad  if  the  matter  could  be  referred 
to  a  Special  Committee. 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  The  objection  to  a  Special  Committee  would 
be  this.  It  would  probably  defeat  the  resolution,  on  account  of  want 
of  time,  and  then  it  would  go  forth  that  this  Convention  did  not  meet 
this  question  fairly  and  squarely  in  the  face.  The  only  question  the 
Committee  could  inquire  about,  is  whether  the  amount  of  twenty 
millions  would  answer  the  requirements  of  the  South.  We  are  just 
as  much  bound  to  ask,  probably  more,  whether,  in  our  present  con 
dition,  we  ought  to  lend  the  suffering  South  twenty  millions  of 
dollars.  That  is  the  simple  question.  A  great  deal  has  been  said 
about  the  devastation  of  the  South.  With  all  respect  to  the  gentle 
man  from  Louisville,  I  would  say,  that  we  too  have  suffered  in  the 
North ;  and  that  we  cannot  afford,  in  my  opinion,  to  spend  twenty 
millions  in  the  way  indicated,  when  the  merchants  of  the  North  are 
to-day  suffering,  and  do  not  know  what  the  future  will  bring  forth. 
We  must  be  just  before  we  are  generous.  When  we  recollect  that 
the  troubles  at  the  South  have  left  twenty-five  hundred  millions 
of  debt  upon  us  as-  a  legacy,— when  we  recollect  that  agriculture 
and  trade  in  every  department  are  suffering,  —  it  does  seem 
to  me  that  Northern  men  should  be  sectional  in  a  case  of  this 
kind.  Northern  men  should  say,  "  Much  as  we  pity  and  grieve 
over  the  South  in  her  present  position,  still  we  do  not  think  that  the 
South  should  occupy  any  better  position  than  we  occupy  at  the 
West." 


110  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

Mr.  WARD,  of  Detroit  :  This  subject  has  simmered  down  to 
this  simple  question.  Is  this  Convention  prepared  to  recommend 
that  the  people  whom  they  represent  shall  be  taxed  twenty  millions, 
for  the  purpose  of  lending  the  money  to  the  South? 

Mr.  ROPES,  of  Boston  :  I  should  like  to  say  just  one  word. 
This  is  not  so  much  a  question  of  lending  twenty  millions  to  the 
South,  as  a  question  simply  of  securing  for  our  suffering  brethren 
there  a  respectful  consideration  of  their  request,  which  one  of  the 
few  representatives  of  that  section  of  the  country  here  present,  has 
made  before  us.  I  hope  we  shall  give  it  such  degree  of  attention  as 
is  involved  in  the  appointment  of  a  Special  Committee  to  consider  it. 
It  is  very  likely  that  such  a  Committee  will  not  report  the  resolution 
recommending  a  loan  of  money  to  the  South,  but  they  will  at  least 
agree  in  sympathy,  and  will  manifest  the  sympathy  of  this  body, 
with  the,  it  may  be,  deserved,  necessary  and  retributive  suffering  and 
desolation  of  the  South.  J  hope  that  the  motion  to  refer  to  a  Special 
Committee  will  prevail,  and  that  we  shall  treat  the  mover,  and  the 
section  he  represents,  with  the  respect  involved  in  the  appointment 
of  such  a  Committee. 

The  question  was  then  put,  and  the  resolution  was 
referred  to  a  Special  Committee,  which  immediately 
retired  for  the  consideration  of  the  subject. 

Mr.  WARD,  of  Detroit,  offered  the  following  reso 
lutions,  which  were  referred  to  the  Committee  on 
Taxation : 

Resolved,  That  legislative  and  judicial  power  should  be  taken  from 
the  Commissioner  of  Internal  Revenue  and  his  subordinates,  and 
questions  between  officers  and  tax-payers  be  tried  in  Federal  Courts, 
so  that  the  sacred  right  of  jury  trial  may  be  respected,  yet  pen 
alties  kept  severe,  to  imprisonment  if  need  be,  so  that  rigid  justice 
be  done  to  all. 

Resolved,  That  the  laws  should  be  framed  to  oblige  assessors  to 
call  for  full  information,  and  make  strict  investigations,  before  accept 
ing  sworn  returns ;  and  whenever  such  returns  are  accepted  and 
passed,  they  should  be  final,  unless  fraud  can  be  proved  in  a  Federal 
Court. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  WETIIERILL,  it  was  voted  that  the 
Convention  take  a  recess  to-day,  from  half-past  two 


INLAND    TRANSPORTATION.  HI 

until  a  quarter  past  three  o'clock,  to  enable  it  to  ac 
cept  the  invitation  of  the  Massachusetts  Legislature. 

Mr.  COREY,  of  Scranton,  offered  the  following  reso 
lution  : 

Resolved,  That  in  order  to  carry  out  the  recommendations  of  the 
Committee  on  Weights  and  Measures,  this  Convention  recommend 
the  repeal  of  all  laws  regulating  the  standard  weight  of  grain,  seeds, 
and  cereals  by  measure. 

Mr.  LATHROP,  of  Oswego,  moved  to  lay  the  resolu 
tion  on  the  table.  Lost. 

A  Delegate  from  Wilmington  moved  its  reference 
to  the  Committee  on  Weights  and  Measures.  Lost. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  PRESTON,  of  Albany,  the  resolu 
tion  was  amended  by  the  insertion  of  the  word  "  flour  " 
before  "grain,  seeds,  and  cereals,"  and  it  was  then 
adopted. 

Mr.  HOLTON,  of  Milwaukie,  presented  the  following 
report  from  the  Committee  on 

INLAND  COMMUNICATION  AND  TRANSPORTATION. 

The  Committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  question  of  "  the  improve 
ment  of  our  inland  and  interior  means  of  transportation,"  beg  leave  to 
report  the  following  series  of  resolutions  as  embracing  the  results  of 
their  careful  deliberations  upon  the  subject  submitted  to  them. 

1.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the   highest  duty  of  a  nation  to  encourage 
all  public  enterprises  looking  to  the  development  of  its  resources  and 
the  increase  of  its  basis  of  taxation. 

2.  Resolved,  That  this  Convention   regards  the  facilities  of  trans 
portation  between  the  seaboard,  the  Mississippi  valley  and  the  Pacific 
coast,  as  indispensable  to  the  highest  development  of  the  country  and 
the  surest  bond  of  perpetual  union. 

3.  Resolved,  That  this   Convention  earnestly  recommends  to  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  as  incident  to  its  plenary  power  to 
regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations  and  among  the  States,  to 
cooperate  with  either  or  all  of  the  governments  of  the  States  interested 
in  measures  which  will  make  certain  the  opening  of  a  ship  canal  ade- 


112  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

quate  to  pass  vessels  of  one  thousand  tons  burden  from  the  Atlantic 
coast  by  the  channel  of  the  great  lakes  to  the  Mississippi  River. 

4.  Resolved,  That  those  great  rivers  of  the  West  whose  channels 
and  commerce  are  not   exclusively  within  the  limits  of  a  State  are  as 
proper  objects  of  national  improvement  as  the  ocean  and  the  lake 
coasts  which  are  the  external  boundaries  of  the  country,  and  should 
receive  an  equal  degree  of  consideration  from  the  Government  of  the 
United  States. 

5.  Resolved,  That  the  aid  to  the  Union  Pacific   Railway  incurred 
in  the  midst  of  war  as  a  great  measure  of  national  defence,  is  now 
vindicated  by  events  as  a  most  important  agency  for  the  development 
of  the  national  resources,  and  that  this  Convention  deems  it  but  just 
that  the  same  policy  be  extended  in  behalf  of  the  national  system  of 
railway  communication  to  the  Pacific  coast,  which  shall  include  lines 
central  to  the  lake  States  and   the  Territories  and  States  of  Dacotah? 
Montana,  Idaho,  Washington,  Oregon,  and  also  to  the   States  which 
adjoin  the   southern  frontiers  of  the  United  States,  whenever  the  de 
velopment  of  the  country  shall  warrant  their  construction. 

G.  Resolved,  That  Congress  and  the  legislatures  of  the  different 
States  be  requested  to  provide  by  law  for  the  greater  safety  of  trav 
ellers  upon  railroads. 

7.  Resolved,  That  Congress  should  provide  by  a  general  act  for  the 
manner  in  which  railroad  bridges  may  be  constructed  and  maintained 
over  navigable  streams  and  other  bodies  of  water. 

8.  Resolved,  That  it  is  important  to  the  interests  of  inland  trans 
portation  and  the  country  at  large  that  facilities  at  the  terminal  points 
of  tide  water  should  be   so  improved   as  to  afford  the  cheapest  and 
quickest  transfer  of  property  to  and  from  shipboard. 

WHEREAS,  Navigation  affords  the  cheapest  of  all  known  means  of 
inland  transportation  ;  and 

WHEREAS,  Lake  Ontario  extends  lake  navigation  nearly  three 
hundred  miles  farthest  eastward  ;  therefore 

9.  Resolved,  That  a  free  ship  canal  around  the  Falls  of  Niagara  is 
vitally  essential  to  the  public  interests,  and  is  a  commercial  necessity 
that  demands  the  attention  and  the  action  of  Congress. 

10.  Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Convention  no  appropria 
tion  from  the  public  treasury  should  be  made  for  new  works  of  public 
improvement   in    the    present   depressed    condition    of  the    national 
fi minces ;  and  that  all  appropriations  should  be  confined  to  the  main 
tenance  of  works  in  existence  or  to  the  completion  of  works  of  the 
utmost  national  importance  now  in  progress. 


CAXAL  FROM  TUB  LAKES  TO  THE  MISSISSIPPI.        113 

11.  Resolved,  That  the  example  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massa 
chusetts  in  prosecuting  a  public  work  of  the  magnitude  of  the  Hoosac 
Tunnel,  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating  Western  communication,  chal 
lenges  the  admiration  of  this  Convention,  and  that  it  recommends  it 
to  the  imitation  of  our  sister  States. 

Mr.  HOLTOX  moved  the  acceptance  and  adoption  of 
the  report. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  ALLEX,  of  Philadelphia,  it  was 
voted  that  the  resolutions  be  taken  up  seriatim. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  CIIAMBERLAIX,  of  Albany,  the  first 
resolution  was  amended  by  striking  out  the  word 
"highest,"  and  was  then  adopted. 

The  second  resolution  was  adopted. 

Mr.  HlXCKEX:  In  reference  to  the  third  resolution,  I  would  ask 
the  Chair  if  he  can  inform  ine  what  would  he  the  length  of  the  canal 
from  the  great  lakes  to  that  point  on  the  Mississippi  River  where  a 
vessel  of  a  thousand  tons  can  he  navigated  ? 

The  PRESIDENT  :  I  will  state,  for  the  information  of  the  gentle 
man,  that  it  will  be  about  three  hundred  miles,  if  they  do  not  use  the 
Illinois  River.  The  gentleman  from  Chicago,  Mr.  MUNN,  is  more 
familiar  with  the  subject  than  I  am,  and  I  will  ask  him  to  state  the 
facts  in  regard  to  it. 

Mr.  MuXX  :  From  the  City  of  Chicago  to  the  Illinois  River,  the 
distance  is  about  ninety-six  miles.  They  would  not,  in  all  probability, 
make  a  canal  more  than  sixty  miles ;  then  slack-water  navigation. 

Mr.  HlNCKEX  :    What  would  be  the  depth  of  water? 

Mr.  MUXN  :    Not  exceeding  seven  or  eight  feet. 

Mr.  HlXCKEX  :  I  will  state,  for  the  information  of  the  Con 
vention,  that  a  vessel  of  a  thousand  tons  burden,  loaded  with  the 
products  of  Europe  or  the  West,  would  require  a  canal  with  from 
eighteen  to  twenty  feet  of  water.  You  see,  therefore,  the  magnitude 
of  the  undertaking  yon  are  recommending.  If  I  understand  the 
matter,  you  will  have  to  go  very  near  the  lower  end  of  the  Mississippi 
before  you  will  have  water  sufficient  to  carry  out  the  recommendation. 

Mr.  MUXX  :  Allow  me  to  say,  for  the  information  of  the  Con- 
vention,  that  a  canal  constructed  from  Chicago  to  the  Mississippi, 
including  the  Illinois  River,  in  my  opinion,  cannot  be  built  to  take 
vessels  of  the  same  construction  and  with  the  same  tonnage  that  float 


16 


114  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

upon  the  lakes.  Vessels  of  the  same  amount  of  tonnage,  constructed 
as  we  construct  vessels  for  those  rivers,  could  navigate  the  canal  and 
the  Illinois  River.  In  order  to  sail  vessels  upon  the  lakes,  you  need 
depth,  without  any  great  breadth  of  beam  ;  on  canals  and  upon  rivers 
you  need  breadth  of  beam,  and  less  depth.  I  do  not  believe  that 
vessels  adapted  to  the  lakes  and  to  the  ocean  will  be  adapted  to  any 
canal  you  could  make. 

Mr.  BBYSON  :  I  have  recently  given  considerable  attention  to 
this  subject;  and  as  within  the  last  twelve  days  I  have  been  in  con 
versation  with  an  officer  appointed  by  the  Government,  some  two 
years  ago,  to  make  these  surveys,  I  will  state  the  result  of  the  con 
versation,  which  was  in  the  presence  of  the  Chief  of  the  Engineering 
Bureau  of  the  War  Department.  We  came  to  the  conclusion,  unan 
imously,  that  the  boats  used  upon  the  lakes  could  not  be  used  upon 
the  Mississippi  River,  even  if  they  could  be  got  there.  We  cannot, 
below  St.  Louis,  safely  calculate  upon  over  seven  feet  of  water  at 
ordinary  stages,  and  the  canal  which  this  officer  made  the  surveys 
for,  and  which  is  calculated  to  accommodate  vessels  drawing  six  feet 
of  water,  requires  nineteen  millions  of  dollars.  We  came  to  the  con 
clusion,  that  vessels  upon  the  ocean  and  upon  the  lakes,  must  be 
vessels,  as  the  gentleman  from  Chicago  stated,  of  great  draft,  and 
of  not  so  much  breadth  of  beam ;  the  vessels  upon  the  rivers  must  be 
vessels  of  great  breadth  of  beam  and  of  light  draft.  I  do  not  pretend 
to  argue  the  question ;  I  merely  state  these  facts,  and  I  think  that 
any  gentleman  who  is  acquainted  with  the  subject  will  substantiate 
the  remarks  I  have  made  here. 

Mr.  HOLTON  :  I  will  state  to  the  Convention  some  of  the  prin 
ciples  that  guided  the  Committee.  Upon  this  question,  the  same 
inquiry  was  made  in  Committee  that  has  been  made  by  the  gentleman 
from  New  York.  It  was  answered  by  those  familiar  with  navigation, 
that  it  was  not  likely  that  the  same  bottom  would  perform  the  entire 
journey  from  the  lakes  to  the  Mississippi  River,  by  any  route  that 
should  be  chosen. 

We  tried  to  avoid  a  multiplicity  of  words  in  our  report,  and  to 
compact  our  resolutions  as  much  as  we  could.  Many  of  these  ques 
tions  were  considered,  and  I  would  ask,  therefore,  that,  a  liberal  con 
struction  be  put  upon  the  language  and  terms  of  our  resolution. 

Mr.  FRAZAR,  of  Cincinnati :  I  thought  this  was  a  Conven 
tion  of  practical  business  men ;  that  we  came  here  for  practical  re 
sults.  Now,  sir,  if  I  recollect  aright,  one  of  the  resolutions  of  the 
report  says  that  it  is  inexpedient  for  Congress  or  the  National  Govern- 


THE    AID    OF    CONGRESS    NOT    NOW    ASKED.        115 

merit  at  this  time  to  engage,  in  any  system  of  public  improvements, 
beyond  those  already  in  progress.  While,  sir,  I  may  not  agree  with 
the  first  resolution,  at  the  same  time,  I  think  it  is  unnecessary  for  us 
to  spend  time  in  arguing  a  resolution  providing  for  the  construction 
of  a  work  which  we  say  afterwards  we  have  not  the  means  to  build. 
Why  should  we  spend  our  time  in  this  kind  of  nonsense  ?  I  think  we 
had  better  limit  ourselves  to  such  things  as  are  practical.  If  ever  the 
time  comes  when  such  a  canal  is  necessary,  if  ever  the  time  comes 
when  our  Government  is  so  rich  that  it  can  engage  in  such  an  im 
provement,  if  ever  the  time  comes  when  it  is  expedient,  right  and 
proper  for  the  National  Government  to  engage  in  such  an  improve 
ment,  then  it  will  be  time  enough  for  us  to  discuss  such  a  resolution. 
I  think,  therefore,  we  should  lay  aside  all  this  pile  of  resolutions,  and 
come  to  one  that  is  practical,  which  I  think  is  the  ninth  or  tenth  reso 
lution.  Let  us  adopt  that,  as  a  resolution  embodying  practical  finan 
cial  common  sense.  Having  done  that,  it  will  be  unnecessary  for  us 
to  act  upon  this  third  resolution. 

Mr.  TAYLOR,  of  St.  Paul  :  The  Convention  will  have  noticed 
the  care  with  which  the  Committee,  in  presenting  the  various  propo 
sitions,  have  endeavored  to  indicate  a  policy,  for  the  consideration  of 
the  country,  without  attempting,  at  this  time,  to  present  anything  in 
the  form  of  instructions  to  Congress.  I  appreciate  as  much  as  the 
gentleman,  the  financial  difficulties  to  which  he  alludes,  and  one  of 
the  resolutions  to  which  he  refers  expresses  an  appreciation  of  those 
difficulties;  but,  sir,  the  Committee  believed  that  the  whole  subject  of 
inland  transportation  was  referred  to  them,  for  the  purpose  of  indi 
cating  a  policy  for  the  consideration  of  the  Convention,  and  for  adop 
tion  by  the  country  at  the  proper  moment,  and  at  the  earliest  proper 
moment.  We  must  make  some  progress  in  the  investigation  of  the 
principles  which  are  to  bear  upon  the  settlement  of  this  question.  If 
we  are  to  abstain  from  all  discussion  upon  the  manner  in  which  these 
great  enterprises  are  to  be  conducted  until  the  financial  difficulty  is 
settled  fully  to  our  satisfaction,  we  shall  not  make  much  progress  ; 
but  we  can  make  substantial  progress  in  considering  the  merits  of  the 
whole  question,  and  in  determining  what  measures  are  possible,  what 
are  demanded  by  the  public  interests,  and  what  are  proper  to  be 
urged,  at  the  right  moment,  upon  the  consideration  of  Congress  and 
the  country.  We  forbear  to  urge  any  appropriations  for  these  works, 
but  at  the  same  time  we  invite  the  attention  of  the  Convention  to  the 
propositions  themselves,  as  shadowing  forth  a  national  policy  for 
increasing  our  means  of  transportation  which  we  must  soon  reach. 


116  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

One  word  more.  This  very  resolution  has  one  important  feature. 
While  it  recognizes,  as  I  understand,  the  duty  of  Congress,  as  inci 
dent  to  its  plenary  power,  to  regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations 
and  among  the  States,  to  aid  and  encourage  this  groat  enterprise 
of  a  ship  canal  from  the  lakes  to  the  Mississippi  River,  it  at  the  same 
time  expiessly  asks  that  Congress  will  give  its  cooperation  to  the 
commercial  States  which  are  greatly  and  immediately  interested  in 
this  improvement.  I  trust  that  this  discussion  will  go  on,  and  that 
the  great,  commercial  bodies  of  the  country  will  satisfy  themselves, 
and  be  willing  to  declare,  that  this  is  an  object  proper  to  be  under 
taken  at  the  earliest  practicable  moment.  I  therefore  hope  that  the 
resolution,  thus  carefully  guarded,  will  meet  with  the  approbation  of 
the  Convention. 

The  question  was  put,  and  the  third  resolution 
passed. 

The  fourth  and  fifth  resolutions  were  adopted  with 
out  ohjection. 

Mr.  COVINGTON,  of  Cincinnati,  moved  to  amend  the 
sixth  resolution,  by  the  insertion  of  the  words,  after 
the  word  "  railroad/'  "  and  on  steamboats  and  other 
vessels  navigating  the  rivers  and  lakes." 

Mr.  TROWBRIDGE,  of  Detroit :  I  would  state  that  that  is 

already  provided  for  by  law. 

Mr.  CoVINGTON  :  Not  fully.  I  understand  this  is  merely  a 
recommendation.  I  am  aware  there  is  a  law,  but  it  does  not  cover 
the  ground  yet. 

Mr.  NAZBO  :  I  hope  the  gentleman  will  make  it  broader,  and 
include  the  ocean,  for  we  on  the  seaboard  want  protection  as  much 
as  our  Western  friends. 

Mr.  COVINGTON  accepted  the  suggestion  of  Mr. 
NAZRO,  and  the  resolution  was  amended  as  proposed, 
and  passed. 

Resolutions  seven  and  eight  were  then  adopted. 

Mr.  ALLEN  moved  to  strike  out  the  ninth  resolu 
tion,  but  the  motion  was  lost,  and  the  resolution  was 
adopted. 

The  question  being  on  the  adoption  of  the  tenth 
resolution,  a  New  York  delegate  inquired  if  it  did  not 


IXTERXAL    IMPROVEMENTS.  117 

conflict  with  the  resolution  already  passed,  which 
recommended  that  measures  be  taken  to  build  two 
more  lines  of  railroad  to  the  Pacific. 

Mr.  HOLT  OX  :  It  will  be  noticed  that  all  these  resolutions  have 
reference  to  the  means  of  the  Government  to  meet  these  requirements. 
We  announce  that,  in  our  judgment,  there  is  no  preparation  and  no 
readiness  on  the  part  of  the  Government  to  assume  these  expenses. 

The  tenth  resolution  was  adopted,  and  the  eleventh 
came  up  for  action. 

Mr.  NAZRO  :  I  fully  appreciate  the  compliment  paid  to  Massa 
chusetts  by  the  eleventh  resolution  ;  I  am  satisfied  that  the  gentlemen 
who  made  that  report  intended  it  as  a  compliment ;  but,  sir,  allow  me 
to  say  that  there  is  a  very  great  difference  of  opinion  in  Massachu 
setts  with  regard  to  the  expediency  of  that  expenditure.  Some  of  us 
believe  that  it  would  have  been  much  better  if  that  project  had  never 
been  undertaken.  We  further  believe  that  it  will  never  be  com 
pleted.  We  believe  it  is  a  source  of  political  corruption  ;  and  I,  for 
one,  am  decidedly  opposed  to  it.  While,  therefore,  I  appreciate  the 
courtesy  of  the  Committee,  (I  beg  they  will  not  understand  me  in 
any  other  way  than  that,)  I  will  move  that  that  resolution  be  stricken 
out. 

Mr.  IIOLTOX  :  Allow  me  to  say,  in  behalf  of  the  Committee, 
that  this  was  hardly  regarded  as  one  of  the  regular  resolutions  of  the 
series,  but  was  offered  in  compliment  to  this  Commonwealth,  at  the 
suggestion  of  some  friend  who  appeared  before  the  Committee,  and 
we  should  be  very  happy  to  see  it  adopted,  if  deemed  wise  and  well 
by  the  Convention. 

The  motion  to  strike  out  prevailed  ;  and  the  report, 
as  a  whole,  was  then  adopted  unanimously. 

The  resolutions  as  adopted,  are  as  follows : 

1st.  Resolved,  That  it  is  the  duty  of  a  nation  to  encourage  all 
public  enterprises,  looking  to  the  development  of  its  resources  and 
the  increase  of  its  basis  of  taxation. 

2nd.  Resolved,  That  this  Convention  regards  the  facilities  of 
transportation  between  tl.ie  seaboard,  the  Mississippi  valley,  and  the 
Pacific  coast,  as  indispensable  to  the  highest  development  of  the 
country,  and  the  surest  bond  of  perpetual  union. 

3rd.  Resolved,  That  this  Convention  earnestly  recommends  to  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States  as  incident  to  its  plenary  power  to 


118  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

regulate  commerce  with  foreign  nations  and  among  the  States,  to  co 
operate  with  either  or  all  of  the  governments  of  the  States  interested, 
in  measures  which  will  make  certain  the  opening  of  a  ship  canal 
adequate  to  pass  vessels  of  one  thousand  tons  burden  from  the 
Atlantic  coast  by  the  channel  of  the  great  lakes,  to  the  Mississippi 
River. 

4th.  Resolved,  That  those  great  rivers  of  the  West  whose  channels 
and  commerce  are  not  exclusively  within  the  limits  of  a  State,  are  as 
proper  objects  of  national  improvement  as  the  ocean  and  the  lake 
coasts,  which  are  the  external  boundaries  of  the  country,  and  should 
receive  an  equal  degree  of  consideration  from  the  Government  of  the 
United  States. 

5th.  Resolved,  That  the  aid  to  the  Union  Pacific  Railway  incurred 
in  the  midst  of  war  as  a  great  measure  of  national  defence,  is  now 
vindicated  by  events  as  a  most  important  agency  for  the  development 
of  the  national  resources,  and  that  this  Convention  deems  it  but  just 
that  the  same  policy  be  extended  in  behalf  of  the  national  system  of 
railway  communication  to  the  Pacific  coast,  which  shall  include  lines 
central  to  the  lake  States,  and  the  Territories  and  States  of  Dacotah, 
Montana,  Idaho,  Washington  and  Oregon,  and  also  to  the  States 
which  adjoin  the  Southern  frontiers  of  the  United  States,  whenever 
the  development  of  the  country  shall  warrant  their  construction. 

6th.  Resolved,  That  Congress,  and  the  legislatures  of  the  different 
States,  be  requested  to  provide  by  law  for  the  greater  safety  of  trav 
ellers  upon  railroads  and  on  steamboats,  and  other  vessels  navigating 
the  rivers,  lakes  and  sea-coast. 

7th.  Resolved,  That  Congress  should  provide  by  a  general  and 
impartial  act  for  the  manner  in  which  railroad  bridges  may  be  con 
structed  and  maintained  over  navigable  streams,  and  other  bodies  of 
water. 

8th.  Resolved,  That  it  is  important  to  the  interests  of  inland  trans 
portation,  and  the  country  at  large,  that  facilities  at  the  terminal 
points  of  tide  water  should  be  so  improved  as  to  afford  the  cheapest 
and  quickest  transfer  of  property  to  and  from  shipboard. 

WHEREAS,  Navigation  affords  the  cheapest  of  all  known  means 
of  inland  transportation  ;  and 

WHEREAS,  Lake  Ontario  extends  lake  navigation  nearly  three 
hundred  miles  farthest  eastward  ;  therefore, 

Dili.  Resolved,  That  a  free  ship  canal  around  the  Falls  of  Niagara 
is  vitally  essential  to  the  public  interests,  and  is  a  commercial  neces 
sity  that  demands  the  attention  and  the  action  of  Congress. 


RELIEF    TO    THE    SOUTH.  119 

10th.  Resolved,  That  in  the  opinion  of  this  Convention  no  appro, 
priation  from  the  public  treasury  should  he  made  for  new  works  of 
public  improvement  in  the  present  depressed  condition  of  the  national 
finances,  and  that  all  appropriations  should  be  confined  to  the  main 
tenance  of  works  in  existence,  or  to  the  completion  of  works  of  the 
utmost  national  importance  now  in  progress. 

Mr.  TAIT,  of  Louisville,  from  the  Committee  to  whom 
was  referred  the  resolution  in  regard  to  a  loan  to  the 
South,  submitted  the  following  resolution  as  their 
report : 

RELIEF   TO   THE    SOUTH. 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  has  heard  with  deep  sympathy  the 
accounts  of  the  destitution  and  suffering  existing  at  the  South,  and 
would  earnestly  express  the  hope  that  Congress,  in  its  wisdom,  may 
be  able  to  devise  such  measures  of  aid  and  relief  as  will,  without  loss 
to  the  Government,  stimulate  the  industry,  and  speedily  and  perma 
nently  restore  the  prosperity  of  that  section  of  our  common  country. 

Mr.  ALLMAX,  of  Philadelphia :  I  would  like  to  move  as 

an  amendment,  the  substitution  of  the  words  "  in  the  Southern  States 
of  this  country,"  for  the  words  "  at  the  South." 

The  amendment  was  accepted,  and  the  resolution 
was  unanimously  adopted,  amid  great  applause. 

Mr.  TlIURSTOX  :  I  have  a  resolution  which  I  desire  to  offer, 
for  the  consideration  of  the  Convention.  There  is  now,  I  understand, 
a  bill  before  the  Senate  of  the  United  States,  providing  for  a  change 
of  our  coinage,  to  correspond  with  the  French  system.  It  seems  to 
me,  that  if  the  measure  is  carried  out  as  proposed  in  the  bill,  it  will 
be  a  surrender  of  a  portion  of  our  nationality,  which  I  do  not  feel 
*  disposed  to  relinquish  without  expressing  an  opinion  thereon.  I 
submit  the  following  resolution,  and  move  its  adoption  : 

WHEREAS,  A  bill  has  been  reported  to  the  Senate  of  the  United 
States,  by  the  Hon.  JOHN  SHERMAN,  Chairman  of  the  Finance  Com 
mittee  of  the  Senate,  to  change  the  decimal  coinage  of  the  United 
States  to  correspond  to  the  French  system,  and  for  the  adoption  of 
francs  in  this  country  instead  of  eagles  and  dollars  ;  therefore  be  it  ^ 

Resolved,  That,  in  the  judgment  of  this  Convention,  no  change  in 
the  character  of  our  national  coins  to  the  sacrifice  of  national  origin- 


1^0  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

ality  or  prestige  should  be  entertained,  until  it  is  incontestable  proven 
that  the  new  system  offers  such  greater  commercial  advantages  as 
fully  justify  the  abandonment  of  a  system  originating  with  our 
organization  as  a  nation,  and  rooted  in  the  habits  and  love  of  the 
people.  The  more  especially  since  the  proposed  change  will  involve 
an  expense  of  six  hundred  thousand  dollars,  at  a  time  when  every 
principle  of  national  integrity  demands  the  most  rigid  economy  in  all 
branches  of  the  administration  of  the  Government,  to  the  end  that  the 
burden  of  debt  may  be  lilted  at  the  earliest  period  from  off  the  people 
of  the  nation. 

Mr.  WOOD,  of  Philadelphia  :  I  want  to  ask  whether  the 
law  of  Senator  Sn  FIRM  AN  means  to  change  the  denomination  of  our 
coinage ;  means  to  pledge  us  to  call  a  milled  dollar  a  franc  ? 

Mr.  TlIURSTON  :  I  believe  there  is,  somewhere  in  the  law,  a 
passage  which  specifies  that  there  is  to  be  a  medallion  of  the  French 
emperor  on  one  side,  and  on  the  other,  a  medallion  of  something 
else. 

Voices  :   Oh,  no.     You  are  mistaken. 

Mr.  SLOANE  :  I  think  the  gentleman  misunderstands  the  char 
acter  of  the  Stnate  bill  for  changing  the  currency.  I  understand  that 
that  bill  is  one  deliberately  and  considerately  prepared,  based  upon 
the  labors  of  a  special  commission.  This  commission  met  delegates 
from  the  great  powers  of  Europe,  and  this  bill  is  merely  for  the 
purpose  of  equalizing  and  rendering  uniform  the  gold  and  silver 
currency  of  the  world.  Now,  sir,  if  this  subject  is  to  be  considered 
by  this  Convention 

The  PRESIDENT  :  If  the  gentleman  will  allow  me,  I  will  state, 
that  the  motion  is,  that  the  resolution  be  referred  to  the  Committee 
on  Currency  and  Finance. 

The  resolution  was  so  referred. 

Mr.  TAYLOR,  of  St.  Paul,  introduced  the  following* 
resolution,  which,  on  his  motion,  was  referred  to  the 
Committee  on  Currency  and  Finance: 

Resolved,  That  Congress  should  immediately  direct  the  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury  to  redeem  United  States  notes  in  gold  and  silver 
coin  ;  and  for  that  purpose,  in  addition  to  the  present  supply  of  specie 
in  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States,  should  vest  the  amplest  powers 
in  the  Secretary  to  obtain  whatever  quantities  of  gold  or  silver  may 


NATIONAL    RAILROAD    LAW.  121 

be  necessary  to  support  specie  payments  by  the  Government ;  and 
simultaneously  with  such  resumption  by  the  Government,  the  national 
banks  should  also  be  required  to  redeem  their  issues  in  specie  or 
United  States  notes. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  submitted  the  following  resolution, 
and  moved  its  adoption  : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  considers  it  important  to  the  general 
interests  of  the  people  of  the  whole  United  States,  that  the  national 
Government,  shall  now  promptly  exercise  the  constitutional  right 
exclusively  vested  in  it  to  regulate  the  means  of  trade  and  commerce 
between  the  American  people  in  all  sections  of  the  country,  as  it  has 
always  done  in  reference  to  trade  and  commerce  between  them  and 
foreign  nations;  and,  that  holding  these  opinions,  the  Convention 
hereby  recognizes  the  propriety  of  Congressional  action  in  nationaliz 
ing  the  railway  system  in  the  way  that  it  has  lately  nationalized  the 
telegraph  system,  by  authorizing  companies  to  extend  lines  all  over 
the  United  States,  wherever  and  whenever  the  public  interests  may 
require  such  lines,  without  annoyances  from  any  local  legislation, 
whereby  speculators  have  so  frequently  controlled  State  legislatures 
on  railroad  questions  by  throwing  impediments  in  the  way  of  business 
men  and  capitalists,  who  have  striven  and  are  striving  to  provide 
better  facilities  at  lower  prices  for  intercommunication  between  the 
people  of  various  regions  throughout  the  United  States. 

Mr.  MuXN  :  I  move  its  reference  to  the  Committee  on  Trans 
portation. 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  I  hope  the  matter  will  not  be  referred.  The 
Legislatures  of  several  of  the  Slates  have  had  the  matter  under  con 
sideration,  and  I  doubt  whether,  in  a  little  while,  any  State  in  our 
union  will  dare  to  vote  against  a  free  railroad  law.  Therefore,  it  can 
do  no  harm  for  us  to  pass  a  resolution  of  this  kind.  It  is  a  popular 
movement,  and  one  that  will  do  us  good.  It  is  a  movement  that  will 
benefit  every  one,  and  I  hope  the  resolution,  as  offered  by  the  gentle 
man  from  New  York,  will  be  adopted. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :   I  call  the  previous  question. 

Mr.  BRYSOX  :   I  ask  the  gentleman  to  grant  me  one  moment. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :   With  pleasure,  sir. 

Mr.  BllYSOX  :  I  am  not  willing  to  place  myself  upon  the  record 
as  voting  for  that  resolution  in  its  present  shape,  because  it  states 


lo 


122  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

there,  in  specific  language,  that  we  recognize  "the  constitutional  right 
of  Congress  to  regulate  means  of  commerce  between  the  States."  I 
know  of  no  such  grant  of  power  to  Congress.  I  know  there  is  a 
grant  of  power  to  regulate  commerce,  but  not  the  means  of  commerce. 
I  know  the  Constitution  provides  that  the  States  shall  not  tax  trans 
portation  between  one  State  and  another, but  it  does  not  give  Congress 
the  power  to  charter  a  road  through  any  State ;  and  when  we  asked 
for  power  to  put  a  canal  through  a  State,  Congress  could  not  give  it, 
although  the  Government  was  t6  pay  for  it;  they  had  to  ask  the 
privilege  of  the  State  of  Iowa. 

The  question  on  ordering  the  previous  question  was 
then  put,  and  it  was  lost. 

Mr.  BRYSON  moved  that  the  resolution  be  referred 
to  the  Committee  on  Internal  Transportation. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  moved  to  amend  so  as  to  put  the 
resolution  on  its  passage. 

Mr.  HOLTON  :  I  may  forestall  that  action  by  stating  that  a 
similar  proposition,  if  I  rightly  understand  the  resolution,  was  before 
the  Committee,  and  they  declared,  deliberately,  that  they  did  not 
consider  it  a  subject  pertinent  to  this  Convention. 

Mr.  COVINGTON  :  If  that  is  the  impression  of  the  Committee, 
that  will  probably  be  the  action  of  the  Convention  ;  but  I  should  like 
to  see  it  brought  to  a  direct  vote.  I  think  it  is  a  very  important 
resolution  indeed,  and  one  I  should  be  very  glad  to  see  adopted,  so 
far  as  I  am  concerned.  I  am  in  favor  of  the  motion  to  amend. 

I  am  very  sorry  to  learn  from  one  of  the  members  of  the  Com 
mittee  on  Transportation,  that  a  similar  proposition  was  voted  down 
in  that  Committee ;  and  if  we  fail  now  to  adopt  this  resolution  in  the 
Convention,  that  fact,  going  before  the  country,  will  do  a  great  deal 
towards  encouraging  this  old  system  of  State  legislation  upon  works 
of  general  importance  and  general  necessity  to  the  entire  country. 
My  friend  from  St.  Louis  referred  to  the  power  of  Congress  as 
relating  to  the  regulation  of  commerce  between  the  States,  but  not  of 
the  means  of  commerce  between  the  States.  I  may  be  pardoned  for 
saying  to  this  Convention,  that  that  gentleman  is  now  engaged,  in 
behalf  of  large  Western  interests,  in  the  promotion  of  the  means  of 
commerce  between  the  Western  States,  —  for  the  establishment  of  a 
successful  means  of  communication  between  the  Ohio  and  Mississippi 
rivers;  and  he  is  engaged  in  a  most  laudable  work.  I  should  be 
sorry,  if  he,  or  any  Western  delegate  who  wants  to  see  the  Western 


NATIONAL    RAILROAD    LAW.  123 

lake  and  river  navigation  improved,  should  vote  against  a  resolution 
looking  to  the  securing  of  artificial  means  of  communication  in  those 
Stares  which  are  not  supplied  with  natural  means  of  transportation. 

Mr.  BRYSCW  :  With  the  single  remark,  that  I  do  not  wish  to 
vote  for  it,  I  will  withdraw  my  motion  to  refer,  and  say  that  I  am 
willing  that  it  should  'go  before  Congress,  leaving  it  to  them  to  deter- 
mine  whether  they  have  the  constitutional  power,  and,  if  they  have, 
whether  they  should  exercise  it. 

Mr.  NAZRO  :  This  is  a  very  important  question,  and  one  on 
which  I  am  not  prepared,  at  this  moment,  to  vote ;  (Applause ;) 
without  expressing  any  opinion  upon  it,  hut  in  order  to  facilitate 
business,  as  I  understand  the  Committee  on  Foreign  Commerce  are 
ready  to  report,  I  will  move  that  the  resolution  be  temporarily  laid  on 
the  table,  until  that  report  has  been  acted  upon. 

Mr.  MuNX  :  I  would  gladly,  from  feeling,  vote  for  this  resolu 
tion,  were  it  not  that  it  seems  to  me  that  every  step  we  advance,  tends 
to  a  centralization  of  the  power  of  the  States  in  Congress ;  and  some 
point  we  must  reach  at  which  to  stop,  otherwise  you  may  altogether 
wipe  out  State  Legislatures,  and  blot  out  State  boundaries.  That  is 
why  I  shall  vote  against  the  resolution. 

Mr.  ClIAMBERLIN,  of  Cleveland  :  Mr.  HOLTON  is  mistaken 
in  saying  that  a  resolution  similar  in  character  to  this,  was  before  our 
Committee.  It  may  have  been  before  a  Sub-Committee,  but  there 
was  none  before  the  full  Committee  on  Transportation.  I  believe  we 
have  laid  it  down  as  a  rule,  that  all  communications  be  referred  to  the 
appropriate  Committees.  I  do  not  say  that  I  would  not  vote  for  that 
resolution,  but  I  want  to  examine  it.  It  seems  to  me  there  is  too 
much  stump  oratory  about  it.  I  don  't  want  a  member  to  come  in 
here,  when  the  members  are  impatient  and  anxious  for  their  antici 
pated  visit  to  the  State  House,  and  try  to  force  a  thing  through  the 
house.  I  hope  it  will  be  referred  to  a  Committee. 

Mr.  NAZRO  :  At  the  present  stage,  I  shall  vote  against  it.  If  I 
could  have  time  to  look  into  the  subject,  very  likely  I  should  vote  for 
it.  If  we  express  any  opinion,  I  want  it  to  be  the  deliberate  opinion 
of  this  Convention,  and  not  something  forced  upon  it.  Thereibre,  I 
renew  my  motion  to  lay  it  on  the  table. 

Mr.  BRUNOT  :  This  resolution  is  one  of  the  greatest  import 
ance.  I  was  about  to  say,  that  it  was  more  important  to  the 
men  of  this  nation  than  was  the  proclamation  of  emancipation  to 
the  slaves  of  the  South.  I  come  from  a  State  where  we  have  been 
more  completely  in  a  state  of  slavery  to  a  railroad  company,  and  are 


124  COMMERCIAL    CONTENTION. 

now,  than  were  those  men  in  the  hands  of  the  planters  who  owned 
them.  I  want  this  Convention  to  affirm  the  right  of  the  people  to 
carry  their  commerce  wherever  they  please,  through  this  broad  land. 
There  can  be  no  harm  done  by  the  resolution.  It  is  simply  referring 
the  matter  to  Congress,  with  the  expression  of  our  desire  for  freedom 
of  transportation  through  the  country,  and  a  recommendation  to  them 
to  get  it  for  us,  in  some  wise  way.  I  hope,  sir,  the  resolution  will  be 
adopted  without  much  dissent. 

Mr.  BKYSON  :  If  the  object  in  referring  it  to  the  Committee  is 
to  kill  it,  although  I  do  not  like  the  phraseology,  I  am  decidedly 
opposed  to  the  reference.  Every  man  who  has  been  engaged  in 
business  knows  that  there  are  monopolies  which  are  the  curse  of 
our  country  to-day,  and  that  there  are  States  controlled  by  those 
monopolies.  You  cannot  go  to  Washington  without  paying  toll  to 
some  particular  State.  The  National  Congress  has  this  question  be 
fore  them.  I  objected  to  the  resolution  on  account  of  a  certain 
expression  of  opinion  contained  in  it ;  still,  if  the  desired  object  can 
be  reached  in  any  way  by  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and 
these  accursed  monopolies  can  be  broken  down,  I  say,  let  it  be  done. 
I  am  not  ready  to  stand  here  and  say  that  any  State  shall  have  the 
power  to  prevent  the  people  of  my  section  from  coming  here.  This 
is  one  country,  and  we  should  all  have  equal  privileges  in  it ;  and  we 
ought  not  to  be  obliged,  in  passing  from  one  section  to  another,  to 
show  our  passports,  or  pay  a  tariff  to  any  particular  State. 

Mr.  ATKINSON  :  It  is  evident,  as  we  get  into  the  discussion, 
that  this  is  an  important  question,  and  as  at  present  advised,  1  shall 
vote  against  the  resolution,  unless  it  goes  to  a  Committee. 

Mr.  BlSSELL,  of  Toledo  :  I  hope  gentlemen  will  refrain  from 
entering  into  the  discussion  of  the  merits  of  this  question  on  the 
motion  to  lay  on  the  table,  or  on  the  motion  to  refer.  If  it  is  laid  on 
the  table,  or  referred,  gentlemen  can  express  their  opinion  upon  it 
when  it  comes  up  again.  1  wish  \\e  could  come  to  a  vote  at  once, 
because  there  is  a  Committee  ready  to  report  now. 

The  motion  to  lay  on  the  table  was  lost,  and  the 
resolution  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Trans 
portation. 

Mr.  ATKINSON  introduced  the  following  resolution, 
which  was  referred  to  the  Committee  on  Currency 
and  Finance : 


PUBLICATION    OF    PROCEEDINGS.  125 

Resolved,  That  it  is  inexpedient  to  alter  the  weight  of  the  standard 
dollar  of  the  United  States,  as  such  a  course  as  proposed  while  being 
a  partial  repudiation  of  our  debt  would  add  to  the  confusion  now  ex 
isting  in  the  minds  of  our  people  as  to  what  constitutes  a  dollar. 

Mr.  MORGAN,  of  St.  Louis,  offered  the  following  reso 
lution,  which  was  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade  be  and  hereby  are  re 
quested  to  cause  to  be  published,  in  pamphlet  form,  the  proceedings 
of  this  Convention,  and  that  the  Chairman  of  each  delegation  before 
leaving  the  city,  is  requested  to  state  the  number  of  copies  desired  by 
his  Association  ;  the  cost  of  publication  to  be  paid  by  the  different 
bodies,  in  proportion  to  the  number  of  copies  subscribed  for  by 
them. 

Mr.  ScnoiJLER,  of  the  Massachusetts  Senate,  with 
a  Committee  of  both  branches  of  the  Legislature, 
entered  the  hall,  and  announced  that  they  had  come 
to  escort  the  Convention  to  the  State  House.  A  recess 
was  therefore  taken,  to  enable  the  Convention  to  visit 
the  Legislature. 


126  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 


AFTERNOON    SESSION. 


The  Convention,  after  the  reception  at  the  State 
House,  returned  to  the  Board  of  Trade  Hall,  and  re 
assembled  at  four  o'clock,  when,  on  its  being  called  to 
order,  Mr.  TOBEY  submitted  the  following  report  from 
the  Committee  on 

FOREIGN   AND   DOMESTIC   COMMERCE. 

The  undersigned,  a  Committee  of  the  National  Commercial  Con 
vention,  to  whom  was  referred  the  subject  of  "  the  restoration  of  the 
foreign  commerce  of  the  country  from  its  present  greatly  depressed 
condition,"  beg  leave  to  report,  that  the  limited  time  of  the  session  of 
the  Convention  affords  but  an  imperfect  opportunity  to  present  the 
subject  referred  to  your  Committee,  with  the  completeness  which  its 
important  and  comprehensive  character  demands.  Your  Committee 
therefore  feel  constrained  to  deal  principally  with  statements,  many 
of  which  will  be  found  fully  substantiated  by  official  documents  from 
the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  of  the  United  States. 

They  first  would  refer  to  that  branch  of  his  report  of  18G4,  upon 
the  foreign  and  domestic  commerce  of  the  United  States,  which  relates 
to  transatlantic  steam  commerce. 

AVith  such  statements,  together  with  existing  facts  as  to  the  present 
depressed  condition  of  commerce  so  painfully  apparent,  your  Com 
mittee  must  rely  on  the  Convention  in  a  good  degree  to  supply  the 
irresistible  inferences,  and  to  complete  the  arguments  as  to  measures 
which  should  be  adopted  by  Congress  for  the  immediate  relief  of  the 
foreign  and  domestic  commerce  of  the  United  States.  In  1838  the 
British  steamer  Sirius  made  an  experimental  trip  from  England  to 
New  York,  which  first  inaugurated  ocean  steam  commerce  between 
Europe  and  the  United  States.  She  was  followed  by  the  Great 
Western,  which  ran  for  several  years,  say  from  1840  to  1846,  almost 
alone,  to  New  York.  But  transatlantic  steamship  trade  could  hardly 
be  regarded  as  regularly  established  until  it  was  done  by  the  Cunard 
line  in  1840,  from  Liverpool,  by  the  way  of  Halifax,  to  Boston.  A  few 
years  prior  to  the  trip  of  the  Sirius,  in  1838,  the  British  Government  in- 


OCEAN  STEAM  NAVIGATION.  127 

augurated  the  system  of  subsidies  to  its  steam  commerce,  by  granting 
large  and  liberal  compensation  for  the  transportation  of  mails  from 
England  to  India  by  the  way  of  Alexandria,  to  a  line  of  steamers 
known  as  the  Peninsular  and  Oriental  Steam  Navigation  Company. 
For  this  service,  which  was  fortnightly,  your  Committee  are  informed 
£230,000  sterling  per  annum  was  paid.  This  compensation  was 
subsequently  largely  increased  until  it  reached  £100,000.  The  con 
tracts  having  not  long  since  expired,  the  Government  advertised  for 
bids,  and  £  J00,0()0  was  the  only  bid.  The  British  Post  Office  De 
partment  made  its  contracts  with  this  Company,  with  the  proviso  that 
it  should  submit  its  accounts  to  Government  quarterly,  and  if  it 
should  appear  that  the  Company  had  not  earned  ten  per  cent,  per 
annum  clear  of  all  expenses,  the  additional  £lOO,()uO  asked  for 
should  be  added. 

These  figures  are  not  obtained  from  an  official  document,  but  are 
from  a  source  regarded  as  authentic  and  reliable.  It  is,  however, 
well  known  that  England  has  recently  renewed  her  subsidy  to  the 
Cunard  line,  and  that  her  policy  from  the  first  has  been  to  subsidize 
her  ocean  steam  commerce  to  almost  every  part  of  the  world,  until 
she  has  covered  nearly  every  sea  and  every  route  necessary  to  com 
plete  a  continuous  line  around  the  globe,  excepting  that  from  San 
Francisco  to  China. 

We  cannot  better  illustrate  the  beneficial  results  to  her  commerce 
and  other  interests,  and  the  corresponding  disadvantage  to  that  of 
the  United  States,  than  by  quoting  from  the  official  report  of  the 
Secretary  of  the  United  States  already  referred  to,  which  is  as 
follows :  — 

"  The  steam  marine  of  Great  Britain  is  intimately  related  to  that  of  the  United 
States,  so  far  as  foreign  trade  is  concerned.  The  increase  of  foreign  shipping  of  all 
classes  conducting  the  foreign  trade  of  the  United  Stntes  is  almost  wholly  British, 
and  the  successful  lines  of  steamers  newly  established,  as  well  as  those  which  have 
at  anv  time  taken  the  place  of  American  lines,  are  also  nearly  all  British.  The 
statistics  of  British  shipping  are,  therefore,  essential  to  the  proper  consideration  of 
the  changes  in  progress  directly  affecting  American  shipping. 

"  The  first  tahle  which  follows  shows  the  tonnage  of  all  nations  entering  British 
ports  for  five  years  to  the  close  of  1863,  the  steam  tonnage  not  being  reported.  The 
most  conspicuous  fact  apparent  in  this  table  is  the  increase  of  the  aggregate  of 
British  tonnage  over  that  of  the  United  States : 

SUMMARY    OF    TOXXAGE    ENTERING    BRITISH  PORTS. 

In  1859.  1863. 

British, 5,338,953  7,299,417 

All  foreign, 3,700,597  3,838,529 

United  States, 1,077,948  692,337 


128  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

"  The  increase  of  British  is  near  2,000,000  tons,  while  that  of  the  United  States 
declines  383,611  tons  in  five  years.  A  still  greater  decline  is  apparent  when  the 
maximum  year,  1861,  is  compared  with  1863,  the  lirst  giving  a  total  of  1,647,076 
tons,  and  the  decline  to  1863  being  therefore  944,739  tons.  This  dec-line  is  iin- 
doubtcdlv  due  to  the  immense  number  of  American  vessels  sold  abroad  in  1861, 
1862  and  1863,  the  great  majority  of  which  were  purchased  by  the  British. 

"  Tims  the  increase  of  steam  vessels,  which  is  wholly  foreign,  combines  iciih  the  loss 
of  the  magn(ficent  fleet  of  sailing  ships,  long  the  pride  of  the  United  Statc-s  commerce, 
to  expel  the  United  States  flag  from  the  chief  centres  of  foreign  commerce" 

Another  striking  illustration  of  the  effect  of  steam  commerce  on 
export  trade  may  be  found  in  the  experience  of  England,  in  the 
establishing  a  line  of  steamships  from  there  to  Brazil  in  1801.  In 
five  years  from  that  date  the  trade  with  that  country  increased  three 
hundred  per  cent.  Karl  GKKY  is  said  to  have  remarked  that  swift 
letters  bring  back  swift  orders  for  manufactured  goods.  England 
now  exports  annually  to  Brazil  thirty-two  millions  of  dollars'  worth 
of  its  products,  against  only  ten  millions  imported  from  there,  leaving 
a  balance  in  favor  of  England  of  twenty-three  millions.  In  185U, 
exports  from  the  United  States  to  Braxil  were  six  and  a  quarter 
millions  of  dollars,  nearly  half  of  which  was  in  flour,  and  our  im 
ports  from  there  twenty-two  and  a  half  millions  of  dollars,  leaving  a 
balance  to  be  met  in  our  settlement  of  exchange,  and  paid  for  in 
England,  in  gold.  The  products  exported  from  the  port  of  Boston  to 
Brazil  formerly  amounted  to  a  million  of  dollars,  and  it  has  now 
fallen  to  less  than  two  hundred  thousand  dollars.  We  cite  these 
facts  to  show  the  intimate  relations  between  commerce  and  the  ex 
port  of  the  products  of  the  country.  Does  it  not  clearly  show,  that 
facility  of  transportation  by  steam  largely  stimulates  the  exports  of  a 
country  to  distant  markets?  It  is  this  well-devised  system  of  sub 
sidized  steam  commerce,  persistently  pursued  by  England  for  nearly 
forty  years,  which  has  transferred  the  great  bulk  of  transportation  of 
valuable  merchandise,  of  specie,  first-class  passengers,  and  mails,  from 
American  vessels  to  a  foreign  flag;  for  previous  to  the  war,  not  a 
successful  line  of  American  steamships  was  running  between  the 
United  States  and  England,  and  to-day  the  American  fl<iq  is  not  borne 
across  the  Atlantic  by  a  single  American-built  steamship.  Our  diplo 
matic  agents  and  Government  despatches  must  be  conveyed  under  a 
foreign  flag.  But  while  American  steam  commerce  has  thus  been 
driven  from  the  Atlantic  by  our  subsidized  and  otherwise  favored 
rivals,  England  and  France,  it  is  an  important  and  striking  fact,  that 
American-built  sailing  vessels,  without  Government  aid  in  any  form, 
were  enabled  to  compete  with  foreign  sailing  vessels  in  the  carrying 
trade  in  every  part  of  the  world;  taking  guano  from  the  islands  of 


DECLINE    OF    AMERICAN    TONNAGE.  129 

the  Pacific  to  fertilize  the  soil  of  England,  and  transporting  the  pro 
ducts  of  China  and  of  India  directly  in  successful  competition  with 
BritUh  sailing  vessels,  into  London  docks.  Indeed,  in  consequence 
of  the  high  cost  of  constructing  first-class  Indiamen  from  wood  mate 
rial  grown  in  England  proper,  American  shipbuilders  had  already 
sold  newly  constructed  vessels  to  England  prior  to  the  recent  war. 
But  the  war  of  the  rebellion  changed  all  this.  With  our  sailing 
commerce  nearly  chased  from  the  ocean  by  confederate  cruisers, 
aided  by  the  unfortunate  views  taken  by  the  British  Government  as 
to  belligerent  and  neutral  rights,  with  a  depreciated  currency,  en 
hanced  price  of  labor,  material,  and  the  cost  of  subsistence,  to  which 
has  been  added  taxation  on  almost  every  article  of  material  which 
enters  into  construction,  and  also  on  all  contracts  connected  with  ship 
building,  and  tax  after  construction,  the  cost  of  building  and  employ 
ing  American  built  vessels  is  far  in  excess  of  that  of  foreign 
construction,  as  will  appear  more  fully  in  a  detailed  report  made  to 
the  Legislature  of  Maine  within  a  few  weeks,  to  which  we  especially 
refer  for  carefully  prepared  statistical  facts.  In  proof  of  the  decline 
of  our  commerce,  we  quote  from  the  Official  Report  of  the  Special 
Commissioner  of  Revenue,  for  18GG.*  "Our  commerce  upon  the 
high  seas,  at  one  time  so  potent  a  means  of  acquiring  national  wealth, 
and  at  the  same  time  of  exhibiting  to  the  world  a  proud  indication  of 
our  growing  strength  and  spreading  influence,  has  fallen  to  so  low  a 
point  that,  while  in  the  year  1853  it  was  fifteen  per  cent,  greater 
than  that  of  Great  Britain,  and  maintained  a  close  competition  with 
it  up  to  the  year  1861,  it  had  fallen  in  1864  to  less  than  half  as 
much,  and  is  now,  probably,  not  over  a  third.  Furthermore,  that 
while  in  i860  two-thirds  of  our  imports,  and  more  than  two-thirds  of 
our  exports,  were  carried  in  American  bottoms,  in  1866  nearly 
three-fourths  of  our  imports,  and  over  three-fifths  of  our  exports, 
were  carried  in  foreign  bottoms.  The  accompanying  tables  furnish 

the  data." 

We  are  also  furnished  with  the  following  statements  from  a 
member  of  the  New  York  delegation,  now  present: 

•'  At  the  present  time  there  are  in  New  York  only  thirty-six  to  thirty-eight 
American  ships.  Aside  from  those  in  the  California  trade,  only  four  or  five 
American  vessels.  Mr.  C.  W.  FIELD  stated  recently,  in  a  speech  in  ^e^v  lork, 
that  there  was  not  then  a  single  American  ship  loading  for  a  foreign  port  m 
New  York." 


See  page  198,  to  conclusion. 
17 


130  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

The  first-named  gentleman,  who  for  many  years  has  been  practi 
cally  engaged  in  foreign  commerce,  estimates  that  previous  to  the 
war  he  has  seen  in  New  York  from  one  hundred  and  forty  to  one 
hundred  and  eighty  American  vessels  at  one  time,  and  vessels  of  all 
nations,  numbering  perhaps  six  or  seven  hundred.  He  adds  that 
before  the  war,  seven-eighths  of  the  sailing  vessels  were  under  the 
American  flag.  We  further  ask  attention  to  the  fact  that  Maine,  in 
1850,  owned  seven  hundred  and  thirty-nine  thousand  eight  hundred 
and  forty  tons  of  shipping:  in  18G(>,  two  hundred  and  seventy-four 
thousand,  four  hundred  and  sixty-eight, — a  decrease  of  about  sixty 
per  cent. ;  and  what  is  true  in  this  instance,  is  also  measurably  true 
of  other  ship-building  portions  of  our  country,  as  official  reports  will 
show. 

The  decline  of  our  commerce  is  an  admitted  fact,  and  must  be 
obvious  to  all.  As  to  the  means  by  which  it  shall  be  restored,  dif 
ferent  opinions  doubtless  exist.  Your  Committee,  however,  assume 
that  the  legislation  and  policy  of  England,  which,  for  nearly  forty 
years,  has  been  undeviatingly  followed,  with  great  advantage,  not 
only  by  liberal  encouragement  to  steam  commerce,  but  by  the  remis 
sion  of  duties  on  all  articles  entering  into  the  construction  of  her 
vessels  of  any  class,  and  still  farther  by  allowing  her  vessels  to  be  sup 
plied  with  tea,  coffee,  sugar,  and,  indeed,  all  articles  required  on 
shipboard,  by  being  taken  out  of  bonded  warehouse,  duty  Ji'ee,  while 
at  the  same  time  exactly  the  opposite  policy  has  been  pursued  by  the 
Government  of  the  United  States,  should  furnish  us  with  a  clear 
precedent  in  this  matter. 

The  commerce  of  our  lakes  and  rivers  also  requires  relief.  Next 
to  production  in  vital  importance  to  the  natural  resources,  lies  the 
equally  important  question  of  cheap  transportation.  In  proportion  as 
the  cost  of  building  and  sailing  our  ocean  and  inland  commerce  shall 
be  reduced,  shall  we  be  enabled  to  transport  the  products  of  the  soil 
more  cheaply, — hence  the  immediate  and  direct  interest  of  agricul 
ture  in  this  question.  The  grain  of  the  West,  especially  Indian  corn, 
must  reach  the  hungry  population  of  Ireland  and  of  England,  as 
indeed  all  distant  markets,  at  a  very  low  rate,  if  it  be  consumed 
by  them  at  all.  Transported  over  a  line  of  nearly  five  thousand 
miles  from  the  place  of  production,  the  cost  of  transportation  must  of 
necessity  bear  so  large  a  proportion  to  that  of  original  production, 
that,  if  it  be  not  carried  at  a  low  rate,  the  crops  will  be  worth  more 
for  fuel,  and  be  burned  in  the  future,  as  they  have  been  in  the  past, 
under  certain  relative  conditions  of  the  market  at  home  and  abroad. 
The  question  of  the  restoration  of  the  commerce  of  the  country  by 


OUR   NAVY    AND    MERCANTILE    MARINE.  131 

American  built  vessels,  under  the  American  flag,  is  emphatically, 
and  in  the  highest  sense,  a  national  one,  for  it  ever  has  been  an  in 
dispensable  source  of  national  wealth. 

The  mercantile  marine  commerce  of  the  United  States  has  been  so 
intimately  allied  to  and  blended  with  the  naval  power  of  our  country, 
that  it  may  be  regarded  as  the  indispensable  auxiliary  of  the  navy, 
as  the  naval  history  of  our  country  will  abundantly  show.  By  our 
energetic  and  daring  privateers,  and  by  the  men  in  the  naval  service 
drawn  from  our  merchantmen,  this  country  contested  the  assumed 
supremacy  of  England  on  the  ocean,  and  wrested  the  sceptre  from 
her  in  the  war  of  1812.  By  a  similar  intimate  union  and  coopera 
tion  between  the  navy  and  our  merchantmen,  our  coast  was  block 
aded  for  more  than  two  thousand  miles  during  the  rebellion. 

We  believe  it  is  not  too  much  to  assume  that  the  splendid  achieve 
ment  of  the  Kearsarge,  the  brilliant  victories  of  FARRAGUT  at  New 
Orleans  and  Mobile,  of  ROGERS  at  Savannah,  of  PORTER  at  Fort 
Fisher,  and  others  equally  worthy  of  mention,  could  not  have  been 
accomplished  without  the  hardy  sons  of  the  ocean  taken  from  our 
merchant  ships,  and  previously  educated  in  the  merchant  service. 
The  tens  of  thousands  of  seamen  drawn  from  the  New  England 
States  to  recruit  the  navy,  are  in  proof  of  the  truth  of  this  position. 
The  admission  of  foreign-built  vessels  to  American  registry,  as  pro 
posed  by  a  few  persons,  would  be  the  last  blow  to  prbstrate  American 
shipping  interests  still  more  ;  and  indirectly,  yet  effectually,  render 
our  navy  dependent  in  part  on  foreign  mechanical  industry  and 
material.  By  such  a  transfer  of  industry  to  the  workshops  and  ship 
yards  of  Europe,  as  must  result  from  the  purchase  of  foreign-built 
vessels,  the  gold  of  our  treasury  must  be  transferred  in  payment  for 
them  to  the  same  nation  which  so  largely  cooperated  in  the  work  of 
destroying  American  shipping;  capital  and  labor  hitherto  employed 
here  in  construction  of  vessels  and  steamers  must  be  dispersed,  and 
when  it  shall  be  again  necessary  to  extemporize  a  navy  and  a  fleet 
of  transports,  we  shall  have  the  privilege  of  drawing  on  English 
workshops,  which,  under  her  construction  of  neutrality,  may  possibly 
be  closed  to  us.  But  the  proposition  of  thus  denationalizing  Amer 
ican  shipping  commerce  appears  so  unpatriotic,  as  well  as  unwise, 
that  we  forbear  to  expend  argument  upon  it. 

As  an  economical  measure  to  the  Government,  can  it  be  doubted 
that  the  mercantile  marine,  with  the  men  and  workshops  sustained 
by  private  capital,  are  a  cheaper  resource  to  the  navy  to  meet  an 
emergency,  than  mammoth  establishments,  and  immense  naval  fleets, 
adequate  to  the  possible  and  sudden  exigencies  of  the  Government, 


COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

kept  up  at  great  cost  to  the  Treasury  ?  As  the  people  do  not  believe 
in  large  standing  armies  in  time  of  peace,  neither  do  they  wish  to  be 
taxed  to  keep  up  large  naval  establishments  in  time  of  peace,  with 
little  or  no  commerce  to  protect.  The  high  position  of  the  United 
States  as  a  naval  power,  in  comparison  with  England  and  France, 
has  been  acquired  by  the  cooperation  and  aid  of  maritime  commerce; 
it  can  only  be  sustained  in  the  future  by  a  similar  intimate  relation 
and  alliance. 

The  Honorable  Secretary  of  the  Navy,  in  his  able  report,  acknowl 
edges  the  important  services  rendered  by  our  merchant  marine  in  the 
following  language  :  "  The  position  and  influence  of  a  nation  among 
the  great  commercial  and  maritime  powers  of  the  world  are,  to  a 
great  extent,  dependent  on  its  naval  ability"  and  adds,  **  it  has  con 
tributed  much  in  aiding  and  bringing  to  successful  issue  a  series 
of  naval  enterprises  and  achievements  wholly  without  precedent  or 
parallel." 

Your  Committee  forbear  to  add  further  important  considerations, 
for  want  of  the  necessary  time  ;  but  they  trust,  in  view  of  what  has 
already  been  stated  thus  imperfectly,  that  this  report  will  be  as 
unanimously  adopted  by  the  Convention  as  it  has  been  in  the 
Committee,  and  they  earnestly  urge  the  adoption,  also,  of  the  follow 
ing  resolution  : 


- 


Resolved,  That  this  Convention  respectfully  and  earnestly  urge  on 
the  Congress  of  the  United  States  the  enactment  of  such  measures 
of  relief  to  the  foreign  and  domestic  commerce  of  the  United  States 
as  shall  enable  us  to  compete  with  the  commerce  of  other  nations  on 
the  ocean,  and  thereby  permit  the  promoters  of  our  merchant  marine 
to  regain  for  our  country  her  proud  position  on  the  high  seas,  from 
which  she  has  been  driven  by  the  late  war  of  rebellion. 

Ml*.  TOBEY  :  In  submitting  this  report  and  resolution,  (which  I 
am  very  much  gratified  to  say  were  unanimously  adopted  by  the 
gentlemen  who  were  present,  and  which  I  hope  will  commend  them 
selves  to  the  unanimous  approval  of  the  Convention,  for  it  does  seem 
to  me  that  the  matter  has  been  placed  on  such  broad,  national 
ground,  that  no  one  can  dissent,)  I  beg  leave  to  say  a  very  few 
words,  for  which  I  presume  myself  alone  to  be  responsible,  by  no 
means  desiring  to  commit  thereby  any  other  member  of  the  Com 
mittee  in  the  slightest  degree.  Some  of  my  remarks  may  support 
the  report ;  others  may  be  a  little  more  definite  than  the  report  is,  in 
terms. 


THE  PRESTIGE  OF  OUR  FLAG  OX  THE  OCEAN.   133 

In  the  first  place,  I  disclaim  here,  in  Washington,  and  everywhere 
else,  the  idea  of  coming  forward,  in  this  hour  of  the  financial  embarrass 
ment  of  our  Government,  to  ask  it  to  put  its  hand  into  the  treasury 
to  protect  a  special  interest,  or  to  have  anything  to  do  with  what  I 
call  class  legislation.  I  have  recently  said  to  members  of  Congress, 
and  I  say  here,  if  the  relief  we  ask  cannot  be  obtained  consistently 
with  all  the  other  great  interests  of  the  nation,  and  equally  for  the 
benefit  of  the  West  and  the  East,  the  North  and  the  South,  I*  beg 
that  no  relief  may  be  granted  ;  for,  first  and  foremost  of  all,  I  am 
prepared,  as  always,  to  stand  by  the  best  interests  of  the  Govern 
ment,  and  of  the  whole  people. 

And  now,  sir,  I  feel  that  I  should  do  injustice  to  this  occasion,  and 
to  this  Convention,  if  I  should  fail  to  recognize  the  cordial  sympathy 
and  accord  which  we  of  the  East  have  received  upon  this  question, 
from  the  gentlemen  of  the  West.  We  have  a  right  to  expect  of 
Eastern  men,  who  are  familiar  with  commerce,  that  they  will  give 
their  aid  to  this  great  interest  which  they  have  studied,  and  with 
which  they  are  well  acquainted ;  but  the  support  of  gentlemen  from 
the  West  must  be  on  national  grounds,  and  not  because  of  any  par 
ticular  acquaintance  with  the  subject.  I  am  happy  to  be  able  to 
state,  that  I  received  from  the  Postmaster-General  of  the  United 
States, — a  Western  man  as  he  is,  coming  from  Wisconsin, — the  most 
emphatic  assurances  of  support  in  views  which  I  had  the  honor  to 
lay  before  him  ;  and,  more  than  that,  I  think  I  do  not  violate  the 
confidence  of  private  conversation  in  repeating  what  he  said  to  me : 
"  I  have  tried  to  impress  upon  Congress  the  idea  that  they  had  better 
risk  twenty-five  millions  in  the  ocean,  than  not  restore  the  commerce 
of  the  United  States."  That  remark  has  the  right  ring  to  it,  whether 
coming  from  the  West,  or  from  anywhere  else.  I  think  we  have  a 
right  to  congratulate  ourselves  that  this  is  the  sentiment  of  very 
many  of  our  Western  friends.  Of  course  they  do  not  all  take  the 
same  view.  It  is  too  much  to  expect  entire  unanimity  upon  such  a 
subject ;  but  when  I  remember  that  the  blood  of  the  sons  of  the 
W^est  and  of  the  East  flowed  and  mingled  together,  in  the  conflicts  of 
the  late  war,  I  cannot  believe  that  those  sons  of  the  West  have  any 
less  regard  for,  or  interest  in,  the  flag  of  our  country,  than  the  sons 
of  the  East,  whether  it  floats  from  the  Alleghanies  or  beyond  them, 
or  in  the  remotest  corners  of  the  globe.  I  believe  that  these  gentle 
men,  as  they  go  to  distant  ports,  and  see  the  emblem  of  our  nation 
ality  thrown  to  the  breeze,  feel  their  hearts  beat  as  warmly  in  the 
sight  of  that  flag,  as  do  those  from  our  Eastern  coast ;  and  for  that 
reason  I  think  we  have  a  right  to  presume  that  their  patriotism  will 


134  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

prompt  them  to  encourage  Congress  to  grant  such  relief,  in  general 
terms,  as  we  speak  of  here,  as  shall  very  speedily  restore  the  flag  of 
the  United  States  to  its  former  position  upon  the  ocean.  Such  a  state 
of  tilings  as  now  exists,  lias  not  been  known  from  the  foundation  of 
the  Government.  Not  a  steamship,  to  day,  carrying  our  flag  across 
the  Atlantic  ;  and  only  six  or  eight  American  ships  lying  in  the  port 
of  New  York,  outside  of  the  coasting  trade,  and  the  California  trade! 
And  yet  we  claim  to  be  the  peer  of  France  or  of  England  on  the 
ocean  !  In  1812,  England  claimed  naval  supremacy,  and  we  dis 
puted  that  claim  successfully.  Now,  I  would  like  to  inquire  if  she 
is  not  to-day  the  mistress  of  the  seas,  commercially  ;  and  I  would 
like  to  ask  my  fellow-countrymen  if  that  is  not  a  painful  fact  ?  And 
if  that  nation  is  the  mistress  of  the  seas  commercially,  how  far  is  she 
from  being  mistress  of  the  seas  as  a  naval  power?  We  have  kept 
our  position  with  England  and  France  as  one  of  the  first  naval 
powers  in  the  world,  because  we  have  been  able  to  extemporize  a  few 
vessels  upon  our  coast,  and  have  defended  our  firesides  and  homes  by 
the  brilliant  exploits  of  the  navy  as  well  as  of  the  army.  It  seems 
to  me  we  can  well  afford  to  undertake,  in  this  most  economical  way 
to  assist  and  strengthen  the  navy  of  the  United  States  by  promoting 
and  sustaining  the  commerce  of  the  United  States.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  ATKINSON  :  At  the  risk  of  being  considered  an  otherwise- 
minded  man,  I  must  say  that  I  should  wrong  myself,  if,  while  I  rise 
to  second  the  resolution,  I  did  not  point  out  that  this  report  is  one 
limited  to  foreign  transportation,  rather  than  a  report  upon  foreign 
commerce.  I  have  not  a  dictionary  at  hand,  but  I  should  define 
"  foreign  commerce "  to  mean,  the  exchange  of  commodities  with 
other  nations,  and  not  simply  the  transportation  of  them  ;  and  while 
the  latter  is  a  very  large  and  a  very  important  interest,  it  is  a  subor 
dinate  one,  and  I  cannot  but  regret  that  the  report  is  limited  to  that 
subordinate  portion  of  the  question. 

Now,  sir,  we  have  assembled  here  partly  for  the  purpose  of  asking 
an  abatement  of  taxation,  and  other  Conventions  have  been  held  for 
the  same  purpose ;  but  it  seems  to  me  that  we,  as  well  as  others, 
work  round  and  round,  and  always  avoid  the  root  of  the  matter.  We 
confine  ourselves  to  the  question  of  the  internal  taxes,  and  ask  an 
abatement  of  them,  mainly  upon  the  ground  that  our  manufactures 
will  be  ruined,  unless  the  relief  is  granted  ;  but  this  position  is  not 
tenable,  and  the  reason  assigned  is  not  one  which  can  be  claimed  to 
give  due  cause  for  the  request.  It  is  of  little  consequence  to  the 
country  whether  I  am  ruined,  or  you,  or  you  ;  and  Congress  has  no 
right  to  legislate  for  our  especial  protection.  Neither  is  it  true  that 


WHY    OUR    COMMERCE    IS    DEPRESSED.  135 

heavy  taxes  will  cause  any  general  disaster  to  manufacturers  as  a 
body.  It  will  ruin  the  weaker  or  more  unskilful  portion  in  any  par 
ticular  branch,  but  the  men  with  strong  backs  and  large  capital  will 
tide  over  the  temporary  depression  ;  the  business  will  then  become 
concentrated  in  the  hands  of  a  few,  who  will  add  the  tax  to  the  cost 
of  their  product,  and  will  charge  a  good  round  additional  prolit  for 
the  service  rendered  in  collecting  it. 

The  demand  for  economy  should  be  made  in  the  name  of  con 
sumers  and  not  of  manufacturers,  and  we  should  ask  Congress  to 
reduce  taxation  in  order  that  we  may  increase  production  and  in 
order  that  there  may  be  a  great  consumption  from  the  abundance  and 
cheapness  of  commodities. 

Having  thus  met  the  question  of  internal  taxation,  then  comes  the 
very  question  which  it  is  evident  this  Convention  means  to  avoid,  if 
it  can — namely,  the  revision  of  the  tariff.  We  have  passed  a  resolu 
tion  which  seems  to  me,  (permit  me  to  say,)  an  absurd  and  utterly 
ridiculous  one,  in  which  we  have  declared  that  we  desire  Congress  to 
regulate  the  balance  of  trade.  I  am  afraid  it  will  make  us  a  laughing 
stock.  Trade  regulates  itself;  I  defy  Congress  or  anybody  else  to 
regulate  it.  The  balance  of  trade  will  settle  itself,  whatever  laws  you 
pass.  The  real  fact  is  just  here,  that  we  place  all  the  obstacles  in  the 
way  of  foreign  commerce  that  we  know  how  to,  and  then  we  dogma 
tize  and  seek  to  find  some  empirical  method  to  get  relief.  There  will 
be  no  relief  to  the  foreign  commerce  of  this  country  until  our  legis 
lators  undertake  a  new  adjustment  of  the  revenue  laws,  whether  these 
relate  to  internal  taxation  or  to  the  collection  of  duties ;  and  in  such 
re-adjustment,  consider  only  how  they  shall  get  the  necessary  revenue 
with  the  least  injury  to  the  productive  power  of  the  people,  and 
attempt  nothing  else.  That  is  the  one  and  only  duty  that  should  be 
urged  upon  them.  We  ought  not  to  ask  rebate  of  duties  nor  draw 
back  for  taxes,  nor  subsidies,  nor  bounties,  but  simply  to  demand  that 
Congress  shall  let  the  balance  of  trade  alone  and  not  muddle  their 
brains  or  any  one's  else  by  trying  to  regulate  it;  and  should  so  legis 
late  for  the  collection  of  revenue  as  to  leave  commerce  as  free  as  the 
necessity  of  the  revenue  will  permit.  One  has  well  said,  that  in 
matters  of  trade  the  word  "  foreign  "  has  no  place,  and  should  be  ex 
punged  from  the  commercial  dictionary. 

So  long  as  the  laws  of  the  United  States  are  to  be  made  to  foster 
and  protect  and  rear  great  iron  babies  with  clay  feet,  which,  the 
bigger  they  grow,  the  more  Government  pap  and  artificial  support 
they  want/so  long  may  foreign  commerce  ask  to  be  relieved  by  this 
or  that  empirical  method,  and  so  long  will  it  get  no  relief. 


136  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

That  would  have  been  the  ground  that  I  should  have  taken  as  the 
representative  of  foreign  commerce,  and  it  is  the  ground  I  would  like 
to  have  seen  taken  by  this  Convention.  And  I  say  this  as  a  manu 
facturer.  Not  that  I  advocate  the  separate  adjustment  of  duties  on 
my  particular  interests,  upon  one  theory  or  another.  We  all  stand 
or  fall  together.  The  cost  of  my  manufactures,  the  cost  of  all  the 
products  of  labor  is  raised  because  the  taxes,  whether  internal  or 
external,  diffuse  themselves  throughout  the  community,  and  raise  the 
general  cost  of  all  production.  And  whatever  may  be  my  theory,  I 
am  bound,  sir,  to  claim  protection,  in  the  very  most  vicious  sense  of 
that  word,  to  my  particular  interest,  so  long  as  the  general  policy  of 
the  country  is  in  that  direction.  So  long  as  there  are  taxes  and 
duties  upon  iron,  taxes  and  duties  upon  fuel,  taxes  and  duties  upon 
power,  taxes  and  duties  upon  tools,  taxes  and  duties  on  provisions, 
taxes  on  processes  instead  of  results,  taxes  on  the  necessities  and 
comlbrts  of  the  people,  we  cannot  compete  with  foreign  manufacturers, 
and  we  must  ask  duties  for  protection  on  cotton  cloth  and  everything 
else  imported  from  abroad  that  competes  with  our  manufactures. 
But  let  this  question  be  taken  up  on  its  broad  ground,  let  the  legis 
lation  of  the  country  be  directed  to  getting  the  revenue  with  the  least 
injury  to  the  productive  power  of  the  people,  and  then  we  can  stand 
upon  a  logical  and  unitary  system,  and  demand  its  enactment  by 
Congress.  Have  done  with  this  piecemeal,  botched-up,  empirical 
legislation!  And,  sir,  in  order  that  we  may  have  done  with  it, — 
before  any  adjustment  of  taxes  or  tariff  on  foreign  commerce,  or  any 
thing  else,  let  us  try  to  find  out,  as  I  have  said  in  connection  with 
another  matter,  what  a  dollar  really  is.  Before  we  undertake  to 
adopt  an  uniform  system  of  measures  or  weights,  let  us  try  to  get  back 
to  a  uniform  standard  of  value.  Let  us  get  back  to  the  use  of  real 
instead  of  mock  money.  The  adjustment  of  measures  of  bulk  and 
weight  and  length  upon  an  uniform  principle  is  of  no  effect  and  will 
promote  neither  justice,  truth  nor  honesty,  if  the  standard  of  value 
which  dominates  all  exchanges  is  false  and  fluctuating,  as  our  incon- 
vi-rtible  paper  money  is. 

Of  what  consequence  is  it  if  your  yardstick  is  made  of  india  rubber, 
and  measures  thirty-two  inches  on  a  cold  day,  and  on  a  hot  day 
measures  thirty-six  inches,  if  your  money  fluctuates  in  the  same  man 
ner,  making  all  trade  gambling  or  speculation  —  speculation  in  the 
bad  sense?  Why,  sir,  until  we  have  an  uniform  standard  of  value, 
which  dominates  all  other  measures,  all  your  adjustments  of  measures 
of  bulk  and  weights  go  for  nothing.  This  cheat,  this  moth,  which  is 
picking  the  pockets  of  the  people,  does  away  with  the  benefit  of  your 


THE    COST    OF    GOLD    FLUCTUATIONS.  137 

adjustment  of  weights  and  measures.  What  would  any  gentleman 
here  give  to  he  guaranteed,  for  the  ensuing  year,  against  the  risk  of 
loss  in  his  business  by  reason  of  the  fluctuations  in  the  relation  of 
paper  to  gold?  Does  anybody  say  less  than  one  per  cent?  I  have 
not  found  any  merchant  in  Boston  who  says  less  than  one  per  cent.; 
they  mostly  say  five  or  six.  What  amount  of  tax  does  that  indicate  ? 
If  it  is  worth  one  per  cent.,  all  will  agree  that  in  the  long  run  the  one 
per  cent,  gets  into  the  cost  of  production  or  the  exchange  of  all  com 
modities.  All  insurance  gets  into  cost;  all  risks  are  covered,  in  the 
long  run,  because  no  business  will  continue  in  which  all  risks  are  not 
paid  for.  Now,  sir,  the  license  tax,  or  tax  of  one-tenth  of  one  per 
cent,  assessed  by  the  United  States  Government  on  sales,  was  paid 
last  year,  on  an  aggregate  of  sales  of  commodities  amounting  to  be 
tween  eleven  and  thirteen  thousand  millions  of  dollars.  One  per 
cent,  on  that  sum  represents  a  tax  of  from  one  hundred  and  ten  to 
one  hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  dollars  per  annum,  imposed  upon 
the  people  in  the  exact  proportion  of  their  consumption  of  every 
article,  whether  of  necessiiy,  comfort  or  luxury  ;  and  therefore  taken 
out  of  the  pockets  of  the  hard-working  laborers;  for,  sir,  seven,  eight 
or  nine  out  of  every  ten  in  this  country  are  men  who  receive  wages 
or  fixed  salaries,  and  not  men  who  work  by  means  of  an  accumulated 
surplus  of  capital;  and  presently  the  instinct  of  the  people,  if  not 
their  reason,  will  cause  them  to  rise  and  overthrow  or  bottle  up,  the 
men  who  advocate  the  continued  use  of  this  false,  counterfeit  mock- 
money  which  we  now  are  forced  by  law  to  i^e. 

I  say  that  it  is  worth  one  per  cent,  to  be  guaranteed  against  the 
risk  of  lo«s  from  the  fluctuation  in  value  of  our  paper  money,  and 
that  this  amounts  to  a  tax  upon  consumers  of  one  hundred  and  ten 
millions  of  dollars  to  one  hundred  and  thirty  millions  of  dollars  per 
annum.  It  may  be  asked,  who  gets  this  sum?  and  I  say,  the  super 
fluous  middle  men  who  produce  nothing,  — the  stock  and  gold  specu 
lators, —  the  many  shrewd  men  who  know  ho\v  to  take  advantage  of 
these  fluctuations  and  who  accumulate  fortunes  for  which  the  life 
time  of  man  would  not  be  long  enough,  were  it  not  for  such  fluctu 
ations.  Has  not  the  marked  feature  of  the  past  few  years  been  the 
numerous  instances  of  enormous  accumulation  of  private  fortune, 
while  the  wealth  of  the  nation  was  being  depleted?  Is  not  this 
the  era  of  extravagance, —  of  vulgar  wa.-teful  expenditure?  I  say, 
sir.  that  this  false  money  is  the  tool  by  which  the  labor  of  the 
country  is  forced  to  contribute  to  maintain  this  speculation,  this 
enormous  and  unhealthy  accumulation  of  wealth  in  few  hands,  and 
this  wasteful  extravagance,  and  it  is  this  one  per  cent,  guaranty  or 

18 


138  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

tax  amounting  to  over  one  hundred  millions  a  year,  which  is  the  fund 
thus  contributed  hy  the  people. 

I  wi>h  that  this  Convention  may  be  brought  to  a  fair  and  square 
vote,  by  tellers,  upon  this  question ;  and  had  I  not  expected  a 
minority  report  from  the  Committee  on  Taxation,  I  should  have  in 
sisted,  this  morning,  upon  a  division,  and  a  count  by  tellers  upon  that 
question,  with  regard  to  the  balance  of  trade.  I  wish  this  Conven 
tion  could  be  brought,  and  I  hope  it  yet  may  be,  to  a  vote,  delegation 
by  delegation,  upon  the  question,  '•  Upon  what  principles  shall  the 
laws  for  the  assessment  of  revenue  be  devised  ?  "  I  am  afraid  it  is 
too  late  now ;  but  I  should  have  been  unwilling  to  come  into  this 
Convention  without  taking  my  stand  upon  the  principles  I  have  in 
dicated,  and  which  I  call  the  broad  and  national  ground. 

Mr.  TOBEY  :  I  very  much  regret  that  any  one  of  my  colleagues 
should  manifest  even  the  semblance  of  a  disagreement  with  the 
principles  now  before  this  body,  which  are  of  the  most  general  and 
patriotic  character;  and  I  especially  regret  that  the  objections  should 
come  from  one  whom  I  know  has  always  been  ready  to  do  everything 
necessary  for  the  support  of  the  Government. 

Mr.  ATKINSON  :  I  did  not  object  to  the  principles  of  the  re 
port.  On  the  contrary,  I  seconded  the  motion  to  adopt  the  report. 

Mr.  TOBEY  :  So  far  as  Congress  is  concerned,  it  seems  to  me 
that  the  report  covers  the  whole  ground.  The  efforts  of  the  manu 
facturers  of  the  country,  including  New  England,  to  obtain  some 
relief  from  Congress  for  their  branch  of  industry,  do  not  indicate  the 
slightest  disposition  to  relieve  commerce  in  any  way  ;  andjt  mu*t  be 
remembered  (and  I  state  it  without  fear  of  contradiction)  that  the 
effort  made  last  spring  for  the  relief  of  commerce,  was  the  first  effort 
ever  made  in  the  history  of  this  Government  in  that  behalf.  That 
was  the  first  time  the  owners  of  the  commerce  of  the  country  were 
ever  found  knocking  at  the  doors  of  Congress  for  assistance,  except 
for  steam  commerce.  As  the  report  expressly  declares,  our  ocean 
commerce,  without  any  aid  from  the  Government,  has  contended  by  its 
enterprise,  all  the  world  over,  with  that  of  other  countries,  until  the  war 
of  the  rebellion  ;  and  now,  after  that  it  has  defended  our  homes  and 
firesides, — but  for  that,  sir,  the  spindles  of  my  friend  [Mr.  ATKINSON'] 
would  have  stood  motionless, — I  am  confident  that  no  man  can  say 
one  word  against  relief  to  the  commerce  of  the  country,  provided  it 
be  given  in  the  right  time,  and  in  the  right  way,  by  the  Congress  of 
the  United  States,  as  in  the  interest  of  the  nation,  and  not  for  .the 
protection  of  commerce  alone.  I  wish  to  call  particular  attention  to 


THE  EFFECT  OF  THE  WAR  OX  COMMERCE.    139 

the  fact,  that  while  the  manufacturing  interests,  embracing  a  wide 
ample  range,— from  the  cotton  and  woolly  manufacturers,  to  the 
manufacturer,  of  cigars  and  whiske7,-are  now  in  Washington 
asking  for  relief,  the  representatives  of  commerce  present  themselves 
now,  for  the  first  time,  and  only  in  consequence  of  the  effects  of  the 
rebellion.  I  feel  confident  that  this  intelligent  National  Convention 
support  so  broad  and  patriotic  a  resolution  as  this ;  and  I  trust 
it  will  be  endorsed  unanimously,  as  it  was  in  Committee  ;  the  Com- 
mittee  being  constituted  of  gentlemen  from  almost  every  State, 
twenty-seven  in  number,  and  fifteen  or  seventeen  of  them  being 
present  during  our  deliberations. 

Mr.  HlCHBOKX,  of  Maine  :  Mr.  Chairman,  I  have  only  a 
single  remark  to  make  in  support  of  the  resolution.  The  gentleman 
from  Boston  will  pardon  me  for  suggesting  that  I  think  history  would 
be  untrue  to  herself  if  she  did  not  record  the  fact,  that  after  a  nation 
has  passed  through  such  a  crisis  as  we  have  passed  through,  its  laws 
require  readjustment ;  and  I  hope  that  that  gentleman,  and  others,  in 
the  room  of  complaining  here  of  the  condition  of  things,  will  make  up 
their  minds  to  be  thankful  that  we  are  no  worse  off,  and  that  they 
will  memorialize  Congress,  not  only  in  relation  to  commerce,  but  to 
every  other  interest,  to  pursue  that  course  which  is  just  to  the  inter 
ests  of  the  whole  country.  We  cannot  possibly  satisfy  ourselves,  or 
anybody  else,  simply  by  complaining. 

I  understand  that  this  Convention  was  called  very  largely  from  the 
industrial  interests  of  the  country,  to  come  up  here  and  say  what  we 
all  need  in  our  individual  capacities,  as  well  as  for  the  common  good 
of  the  whele  country.  If  that  had  not  been  the  case,  I  cannot  think 
it  would  have  been  wise  for  us  to  come  here.  When  the  gentleman 
says  that  other  interests  besides  that  of  commerce  require  relief,  I 
have  no  doubt  that  it  is  so  ;  but  if  he  complains  that  the  manufac 
turing  interest  is  not  protected,  what  shall  the  man  say  who  is  con 
nected  with  foreign  commerce  ?  If  two-thirds  or  three-quarters  of 
the  manufacturer's  spindles  do  not  revolve,  because  he  has  not  been 
helped,  it  is  a  source  of  regret ;  but  our  foreign  commerce  has  been 
wrested  from  us,  and  we  ask  only  that  Congress  will  enact  such 
measures  as  will  afford  relief.  We  take  it  for  granted,  that  the 
Congress  of  the  United  States,  when  you,  coming  from  every  part  of 
the  country,  shall  ask  them  to  give  relief,  will  seek  the  method  them 
selves,  and  that  they  are  abundantly  competent  to  do  so.  We  in  the 
shipbuilding  interest  have  accepted  the  condition  of  things  growing 
out  of  the  war.  We  went  as  boldly  for  the  war  as  any  other  class, 
and  suffered,  in  this  specific  matter,  more  than  any  other  interest  in 


140  COMMERCIAL    CONTENTION. 

the  country.  But  of  this  alone  we  do  not  complain  ;  we  only  ask 
that  you.  in  a  spirit  of  generosity,  will  petition  Congress  to  grant 
some  relief,  in  their  own  way.  and  in  accordance  with  their  own 
views,  to  a  great  and  suffering  branch  of  national  industry. 

Mr.  ATKINSON  :  I  trust  I  may  not  be  considered  as  having 
opposed  the  report  and  resolution  of  the  Committee.  It  seemed  to 
me  the  last  opportunity  that  I  might  have  to  make  rather  a  broad 
speech,  and  therefore  I  took  it.  I  do  not  wi.-h  to  oppose,  but  I 
second  the  report  and  resolution. 

Mr.  ROPES,  Of  Boston  :  Mr.  President,  I  will  not  detain  the 
Convention  more  than  two  minutes.  I  merely  wish  to  state  a  fact, 
which  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  would  have  stated  if  it  had 
been  in  his  mind  while  speaking.  A  friend  on  my  left  has  just 
stated  to  me,  that  the  postages  on  letters  between  this  country  and 
Europe  amount  to  two  and  a  half  millions  a  year.  That  amount,  of 
course,  is  available  either  as  a  remuneration  for  canning  the  mails, 
or,  if  you  please  to  call  it  so,  as  a  subsidy  to  the  mail  steamers.  I 
was  once  a  passenger  on  one  of  the  Cunard  steamers,  and  took  occa 
sion  to  tell  the  caplain  that  his  company  was  receiving  a  large 
subsidy  from  the  British  Government.  lie  replied  at  once,  u  We 
are  willing  to  sail  our  steamers  without  subsidy,  provided  we  are 
allowed  to  charge  eightpence  (that  is,  sixteen  cents  of  what  should  he 
our  coinage,)  for  every  letter  carried  "  On  those  terms,  they  would 
be  happy  to  carry  the  mails,  without  receiving  one  farthing  more 
from  the  government. 

The  question  was  then  put,  and  the  report  and 
resolution  were  adopted  unanimously,  amid  general 
applause. 

Mr.  NAZRO  moved  that  a  copy  of  the  resolution, 
signed  by  the  officers  of  the  Convention,  be  sent  to 
every  member  of  Congress. 

Mr.  TATIIAM,  of  Philadelphia :  I  was  going  to  ask  if  the 

report  is  riot  sufficiently  important  to  be  addressed  in  the  form  of  a 
memorial  to  Congress.  I  think  in  that  way  it  would  be  spread  more 
fully  before  the  country. 

Mr.  NAZRO  adopted  the  suggestion  of  the  gentle 
man  from  Philadelphia,  and  the  motion  passed  in  that 
form. 


DRAWBACK   FOR    SHIPBUILDERS.  141 

A  communication  was  read  from  Mr.  RICHARDSON, 
of  the  Stonington  line,  extending  an  invitation  to  the 
members  of  the  Convention  to  travel  by  that  route  to 
New  York. 

Mr.  CULVER,  of  Chicago,  offered  the  following 
resolutions  : 

Resolved,  That  while  we  would  not  abandon  the  general  principle 
of  taxation,  we  would  respectfully  suggest  to  Congress  a  remission  of 
duties  paid  on  all  material  of  foreign  production  entering  into  the 
construction  of  steamships  and  sailing  vessels;  and  a  drawback  on 
all  material  of  domestic  manufacture  used  in  the  building  of  such  ships 
and  vessels  equal  in  amount  to  what  would  have  been  the  duties,  if 
said  material  had  been  imported  ;  believing  that  this  return,  if 
granted,  would  enable  a  crippled  industry  to  place  itself  in  such  a 
position  of  restored  activity  as  to  greatly  increase  the  wealth  of  the 
country,  and  thereby  the  volume  of  its  revenues. 

Resnlced,  That  we  would  recommend  that  the  period  of  time  for 
which  this  remission  of  imposts  and  of  internal  duties  be  guara  .teed, 
be  limited  to  the  return  of  the  country  to  a  specie  basis,  and  not  more 
than  ten  years. 

Hes'jlved,  That  in  our  judgment  the  internal  revenue  tax  on  the, 
gross  receipts  of  steamers,  owned  by  citizens  of  the  United  States 
and  sailing  under  our  flag,  should  be  repealed. 

Mr.  STRAXAIIAX  moved  their  reference  to  the  Com 
mittee  on  Foreign  Commerce. 

Mr.  IIOSEA,  of  Cincinnati  :  As  a  member  of  that  Com 
mittee,  which  has  devoted  a  great  deal  of  labor  to  this  matter,  and 
brought  in  a  report  which  covers  the  whole  ground,  it  seems  to  me 
it  would  be  most  appropriate  to  lay  them  on  the  table. 

The  resolutions  were  so  disposed  of. 

An  invitation  from  the  Hon.  THOMAS  RUSSELL, 
Collector  of  the  Port  of  Boston,  was  read,  tendering 
to  the  Convention  the  use  of  a  steam-tug,  to  visit  the 
Navy  Yard,  and  other  places  of  interest  in  the 

harbor. 

A  communication  was  read  from  Mr.  STEARNS, 
President  of  the  Old  Colony  Railroad,  tendering  to 


142  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

the  members  of  the  Convention  a  free  passage  home 
over  that  line,  to  New  York. 

Mr.  FRALEY  submitted  the  following  report,  from 
the  Committee  on 

CURRENCY   AND   FINANCE. 

The  Committee  to  whom  were  referred  the  subjects  of  Currency 
and  Finance,  beg  leave  to  report  the  following  resolution?,  and  rec 
ommend  their  adoption  by  the  Convention : 

Resolved^  That  as  the  existing  indebtedness  of  the  nation  and  of 
individuals,  and  the  exchangeable  values  of  all  property  have  been 
practically  adjusted  to  the  amount  of  currency  now  in  circulation, 
there  should  not  at  present  be  any  expansion  or  contraction  thereof, 
but  that  the  legal  tender  currency  should  be  gradually,  but  steadilv, 
approximated  to  the  specie  standard,  by  the  funding  thereof,  on  and 
after  the  first  of  January,  I860,  in  amounts  not  exceeding  three  mil 
lions  of  dollars  per  month. 

Resolved,  That  the  national  honor  and  good  faith  alike  require 
that  the  Government  should  not  avail  itself  of  the  right  to  pay  off  the 
five-twenty  bonds  until  by  a  general  resumption  of  specie  payments 
the  public  debt,  as  it  matures,  can  be  paid  in  specie  or  its  equiv 
alent. 

Resolved,  That  the  inequality  in  the  distribution  of  the  national 
bank  currency  between  the  different  sections  of  the  country  requires 
some  action  on  the  part  of  Congress. 

Resolved)  That  to  this  end,  the  following  change  in  the  national 
banking  law  be  recommended  to  Congress:  — 

That  any  persons,  proposing  to  form  a  new  bank,  may  present  to 
the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  in  national  bank  bills,  of  any  banks 
having  a  circulation  of  more  than  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  capital  of 
such  bank,  the  amount  proposed  as  capital  of  the  new  bank,  which 
the  Comptroller  shall  redeem  in  greenbacks.  Thereupon  the  Comp 
troller  shall  cancel  such  bills  and  return  them  to  each  bank  of  issue 
for  redemption,  returning  to  such  bank  the  bonds  pledged  as  security, 
whenever  a  sufficient  amount  of  bills  shall  have  been  cancelled  to 
liberate  one  or  more  bonds.  And  that,  thereupon,  the  persons  pre 
senting  such  bank  bills  shall  be  entitled,  upon  lodging  bonds,  and 
otherwise  complying  with  the  provisions  of  the  law,  to  form  a  new 
bank,  and  receive  from  the  Comptroller  an  issue  of  currency  not  ex 
ceeding  sixty  per  cent,  of  its  capital. 


CURRENCY    AND    FINANCE.  143 

Provided,  That  no  national  bank  currency  shall  be  issued  to  any 
new  bank  in  any  State  in  which  the  amount  of  national  bank  currency 
already  issued  to  the  banks  of  such  State  shall  hear  a  greater  propor 
tion  lo  three  hundred  millions  of  dollars  than  the  representative 
population  of  such  State  shall  bear  to  the  representative  population 
of  the  country  ;  and, 

Provided,  further,  That  the  aggregate  amount  of  currency  issued 
to  the  national  banks  shall  in  no  case  exceed  three  hundred  millions 
of  dollars,  until  such  time  as  the  banks  shall  have  resumed  specie 
payments. 

Resolved,  That  a  system  of  free  national  banking  can  be  safely 
allowed  so  soon  as  bank  notes  are  payable  and  paid,  on  demand,  in 
coin,  and  not  before. 

Rcsuhed,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  to  enact  a  law  authorizing  contracts  to  be  made  in  writing, 
which  shall  be  payable  in  gold  or  silver  coin,  and  securing  the  specific 
performance  of  such  contracts. 

Resolved,  That  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  should  by  law 
supersede  the  usury  laws  of  the  several  States,  and  make  seven  per 
cent,  per  annum,  the  uniform  rate  of  interest,  when  no  contract  lias 
been  made  for  any  other  rate,  and  authorizing  contracts  to  be  made 
in  writing  for  the  use  of  money  at  any  rate  of  interest  upon  which 
parties,  able  and  willing  to  contract  therefor,  may  agree. 

Mr.  FRALEY  :  T  would  state,  in  presenting  this  report,  that  it 
has  not  been  unanimously  agreed  to  by  the  Committee,  but  agreed  to 
by  a  large  majority  of  the  Committee  as  a  whole.  AVe  have  all  (I 
speak  for  those  who  have  concurred  in  the  report)  given  up  many  of 
the  ideas  with  which  we  came  into  the  presence  of  this  Convention. 
Our  individual  views  have  been  modified  by  contact  with  each  other, 
and  we  have  presented  a  scheme  which  appears  to  us  to  unite,  as  far 
as  it  is  possible  to  unite,  the  judgment  of  the  Committee  upon  these 
several  questions.  I  understand  that  my  friend  from  Detroit,  (Mr. 
FIELD,)  who  does  not  concur  in  this  report,  but  who  was  cut  off  from 
presenting  the  views  of  the  minority  by  a  motion  that  the  Committee 
rise  and  report  to  this  Convention,  will  probably  present  the  views 
entertained  by  himself  and  the  minority  of  the  Committee;  and  after 
he  has  clone  so,  I  propose  that  the  Convention  shall  proceed  to  the 
consideration  of  the  resolutions  reported  by  the  Committee;  and 
after  hearing  what  may  be  urged  against  them,  if  it  should  be  your 
pleasure,  I  will  endeavor  to  defend  the  propositions  as  presented, 


144  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

and  ask  the  concurrence  of  the  Convention  in  them  as  a  whole. 
(Applause.) 

Mr.  BABCOCK,  of  New  York  :  I  think  the  report  a  very 
able  one,  and  I  am  satisfied  to  sustain  it.  I  move  its  acceptance. 

Carried. 

Mr.  FlELD  :  Dissenting  from  the  views  presented  by  the  ma 
jority  of  the  Committee,  I  beg  leave  to  offer  the  following  as  a  sub 
stitute: — 

JResoJred,  That  with  the  view  to  stimulate  domestic  production,  to 
secure  the  resumption  of  specie  payments  in  a  healthy  and  permanent 
shape,  the  duties  on  importations  of  foreign  manufactures  should  be 
so  adjusted  as  to  keep  the  balance  of  trade  with  foreign  nations  in 
favor  of  the  United  States. 

liesoh'ed,  That  in  the  present  abnormal  condition  of  our  trade  with 
other  nations,  specie  payments  should  not  be  attempted  until  the 
precious  metals  from  our  rich  mines  accumulate  so  as  to  make  re 
sumption  an  easy  matter,  and  until  labor,  the  chief  source  of  national 
wealth,  shall  restore  harmony  not  only  to  foreign  and  domestic  trade, 
but  health  and  stability  to  the  national  finances. 

Itcsolred,  That  while  this  Convention  is  opposed  to  any  expansion 
or  increase  of  the  public  debt,  we  are  in  favor  of  the  contraction  of 
compound  interest  notes,  three  per  cent,  certificates,  temporary  loan 
and  certificates  of  indebtedness  bearing  interest,  and  payable  in  law 
ful  money,  amounting  on  the  first  of  January  to  $rt3,047,4' >9,  and  the 
issue  of  plain  greenbacks  in  lieu  thereof,  but  without  increasing  the 
aggregate  public  indebtedness  or  circulating  medium. 

liesohed)  That  the  payment  of  no  part  of  the  principal  of  the 
public  debt  should  be  made  in  the  present  unsettled  state  of  affairs, 
and  not  until  all  the  States  of  the  Union  are  in  a  financial  and  indus 
trial  condition  to  pay  their  due  share,  and  then  its  reduction  should 
be  slow,  commencing  with  the  payment  of  a  small  sum  annually,  and 
gradually  increasing  the  amount  with  the  increase  of  population  and 
wealth  of  the  country. 

Rcgotved,  That  the  national  banking  act  should  be  amended  so  as 
to  make,  it  a  free  banking  law  instead  of  a  monopoly. 

Mr.  SLOANE  moved  the  adoption  of  the  report  of 
the  majority. 

Mr.  WARD,  of  Detroit :  Before  that  motion  is  put,  I  wish  to 
make  one  remark.  I  object  to  the  report,  on  the  ground  that  it  con- 


A    FREE    BANKING    LAW.  145 

templates  a  considerable  reduction  of  the  circulating  medium  and 
currency  of  the  country  ;  although,  as  a  whole,  I  like  the  report  very 
well.  The  people  of  the  West  are  not  in  a  condition,  nor  are  they 
willing,  to  have  the  currency  reduced  below  what  it  is  now  ;  and  I 
think  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  members  present  will  agree  with 
me,  that  the  universal  sentiment  is,  that  they  are  not  willing  to  have 
any  further  immediate  contraction  of  the  currency. 

Mr.  BUZBY,  Of  Philadelphia  :  I  presume  that  the  Conven 
tion  is  pretty  well  fatigued  with  the  amount  of  its  labor,  and  would 
naturally  like  to  adjourn  ;  but  inasmuch  as  our  temporary  President 
has  told  us  that  this  currency  question  strikes  at  the  very  roots  of 
society,  it  is  proper  that  we  should  give  some  attention  to  the  matter. 
There  is  one  point  on  which  I  wish  at  this  time  to  speak,  and  that  is 
in  reference  to  a  free  banking  law,  established  by  the  nation.  I  wish 
in  some  way  to  get  this  matter  in  here,  because  many  Western  mem 
bers  are  very  deeply  interested  in  it,  with  many  of  us  at  the  East ; 
but  in  the  disposition  that  is  manifested  to  despatch  the  whole  thing, 
I  do  not  exactly  see  clearly  my  way.  If  the  Chairman  of  the  Com 
mittee  would  accord  me  the  right  to  present  a  motion  in  connection 
with  this  subject,  of  a  national  free  banking  law,  I  think  I  could  get 
along.  I  will  take  it  for  granted  that  I  have  permission,  and  will 
offer  one  accordingly.  I  offer  this  resolution  as  an  amendment  to  the 
substitute : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  recommends  to  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States  the  adoption  of  a  free  banking  law,  under  whose  pro 
visions  the  circulation  of  the  banks  should  be  based  upon  national 
securities  ;  the  number  of  banks,  the  amount  of  banking  capital,  and 
their  distribution  throughout  the  country,  to  be  regulated  by  the 
natural  law  of  supply  and  demand.  The  details  of  the  system  to  be 
similar  to  those  controlling  the  administration  of  existing  national 
banks,  with  such  improvements  as  experience  has  shown  to  be 
advisable. 

Mr.  President,  many  of  us  favor  the  adoption  of  a  measure  of 
this  kind,  and  desire  to  have  this  Convention  recommend  its  adoption 
by  Congress,  because  this  seems  to  be  the  only  natural,  logical,  and 
true  basis  on  which  to  place  the  banking  system  of  the  country.  We 
believe  that  the  banking  business  should  be  as  free  as  any  other 
business ;  that  if  banks  of  issue  and  circulation  be  good  for  one  part 
of  the  country,  they  are  good  for  another  ;  that  so  long  as,  by  the 
distribution  of  the  existing  national  banks,  the  East  and  the  seaboard 


'o 

19 


140  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

have  the  lion's  share,  it  is  nothing  more  than  right  that  Pennsylvania, 
the  Middle  States,  and  the  West,  should  enjoy  equal  advantages.  If 
there  is  anything  utterly  idle  in  the  world  upon  the  subject  of 
finance,  it  is  for  any  body  of  men  to  attempt  to  prescribe,  at  any 
time,  the  amount  of  currency  that  should  be  used  in  a  country.  As 
well  might  a  man  undertake  to  dictate  to  me  how  much  money  I 
should  use  in  my  business.  We  are  not  children.  We  feel  able  to 
be  trusted  with  money,  and  we  ask  that  we  may  be.  Badly  as  we 
might  manage  it,  it  is  impossible  but  that  it  would  be  managed 
infinitely  worse,  if  Congress  should  undertake  to  manage  the  matter 
for  us. 

If  banks  and  banking  are  an  advantage  to  the  public,  the  West  is 
as  much  entitled  to  their  use  as  the  East.  In  lieu  of  a  free  banking 
law  for  the  whole  nation,  it  has  been  proposed  to  remove  bank  capital 
and  circulation  from  quarters  where  they  are  supposed  to  be  in 
excess,  to  others  where  they  are  deficient,  without  disturbing  the 
existing  gross  amount  of  either.  I  do  not  believe  that  any  portion 
of  the  country  would  cheerfully  submit,  under  any  circumstances,  to 
be  deprived  of  capital,  and  the  machinery  of  circulation,  for  the 
benefit  of  another  portion.  Let  the  East  keep  what  it  has,  and  per 
mit  the  Middle  States  and  the  West  to  supply  themselves,  by  cre 
ating  banks  and  circulation  under  a  general  law  to  be  passed  by 
Congress.  This  would  leave  the  whole  matter  to  be  regulated  there 
after  by  the  natural  law  of  supply  and  demand. 

It  is  time  that  the  miserable  quackery  practised  by  Congress 
in  pretending  to  state,  year  by  year,  what  amount  of  currency  is 
needed  by  the  country,  should  come  to  an  end,  and  be  left  to  a 
broader  and  wiser  solution  by  the  people  at  large.  For  this  purpose 
a  national  free  banking  law  should  be  enacted. 

Only  two  objections  to  such  a  law  are  urged  :  First,  we  are  told 
there  will  be  too  many  banks  ;  but  banks  cannot  be  established  with 
out  capital.  Competition  would  lessen  their  profits,  and  number,  as 
it  does,  other  business.  This  would  be  a  sufficient  restraint.  Second, 
it  is  said  the  circulation  of  paper  money  would  be  inordinately  in 
creased,  by  a  free  banking  law.  The  reply  to  this  assertion  is,  that 
you  cannot  place  in  the  channels  of  business  more  circulating  medium 
than  they  can  receive. 

L(t  me  illustrate  this  remark  by  quoting  an  article  from  the  New 
York  Tribune,  io  the  following  effect:  "In  1861,  Secretary  Chase 
••-timatf'l  tin-  whole  amount  of  our  currency  in  circulation  at  four 
hundml  and  >r\  < -nty— even  million  dollars.  The  report  of  the  Comp- 


A   FREE    BANKIXG    LAW.  147 

troller  of  the  Currency  for  October,  1807,  gives  the  total  currency 
then  circulating  as  four  hundred  and  seventy-one  million  dollars. 

Thus  it  is  seen,  that  our  active  circulation  does  not  exce,  d  five 
hundred  million  dollars;  but  this  does  not  prevent  gentlemen  from 
asserting  that  our  paper  circulation  now  amounts  to  one  billion  tive 
hundred  million  dollars.  They  make  this  huge  amount  by  passing 
into  service  every  possible  form  of  our  national  debt,  including  bank 
deposits,  etc.  The  Comptroller  of  the  Currency,  however,  docs  not 
figure  as  they  do. 

Let  us,  then,  decide  in  favor  of  a  free  banking  law,  which  will  heal 
all  jealousies  and  disputes  between  different  sections  and  enable  them 
all  to  use  their  energies  successfully  in  promoting  the  welfare  of  the 
entire  country.  I  propose  my  resolution  as  a  substitute  for  that  part 
of  the  majority  report  which  relates  to  this  subject. 

Mr.  ROPES,  of  Boston  :  Is  the  resolution  before  the  Con- 
vention  ? 

The  PRESIDENT  :  No,  sir ;  the  question  is  on  the  adoption  of 
the  substitute.  The  Chair  understood  that  the  gentleman  was  offer 
ing  this  as  an  amendment  to  the  substitute  ;  but  he  just  informed  the 
Convention  that  he  would  offer  it  as  an  amendment  to  the  original 
report.  The  question,  therefore,  is  on  the  adoption  of  the  substitute 
offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Detroit. 

Mr.  FORT,  of  OswegO  :  I  am  not  in  favor  of  the  substitute 
offered  by  the  gentleman  from  Detroit,  neither  am  I  wholly  in  favor 
of  the  majority  report.  We  all  seem  to  be  in  favor  of  a  free  banking 
law.  It  appears  to  me  that  the  difficulty  in  the  matter  of  the  cur 
rency  lies  just  here, — that  we  are  endeavoring  to  tell  this  country 
just  how  much  currency  they  want,  and  how  much  they  don't  want  ; 
and  any  one  acquainted  with  the  business  affairs  of  our  nation,  knows 
that  at  some  seasons  of  the  year,  when  produce  is  being  moved,  we 
require  much  more  than  at  others.  Let  any  man  establish  a  bank 
where  he  finds  a  place  where  the  people  are  willing  to  use  his  bank  ; 
let  him  put  by  public  securities  for  every  dollar  he  issues  ;  and  let  him, 
whenever  his  circulation  is  presented  at  his  counter,  or  at  his  redeeming 
agent's,  redeem  it  in  currency ;  and  then,  if  the  business  men  of  the 
East  do  not  want  our  bills  when  we  send  them  on,  let  them  send  them 
back  to  us,  and  make  us  take  care  of  them ;  and  when  we  get  out  too 
many  bills, — more  than  are  required, — we  will  lock  them  up  in  our 
vaults. 

I  have  been  connected  with  banking  institutions  in  the  State  of 
New  York,  Before  this  national  banking  system  was  in  vogue,  we 


148  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

had  n  free  banking  law,  anil,  before  the  suspension  of  specie  payments, 
we  were  obliged  to  redeem  our  bills  in  coin  at  our  counter,  and  through 
our  redeeming  agents  in  New  York.  The  result  was,  when  our 
redeeming  agents  sent  home  our  bills  faster  than  we  cared  to  use 
them  or  redeem  them,  we  locked  them  up  in  our  vaults  ;  and  at  some 
seasons,  we  had  almost  our  entire  circulation  locked  up;  and  at  other 
seasons,  when  the  produce  was  moving,  and  people  wanted  money,  it 
was  all  out.  Make  your  national  banking  law  on  the  same  prin 
ciple  ;  compel  the  banks  to  redeem,  not  only  at  their  own  counter, 
but  at  points  that  shall  be  designated  in  the  law  ;  then  let  them  put 
all  the  bills  afloat  they  can  ;  and  when  the  people  do  not  want  them, 
let  them  send  them  home,  and  the  banks  will  be  glad  to  lock 
them  up. 

The  question  was  then  taken  on  the  substitute,  and 
it  was  rejected. 

Mr.  BUZBY  moved  that  the  report  of  the  Com 
mittee  he  considered  hy  sections ;  but  the  motion 
was  lost. 

Mr.  FRALEY  :  Permit  me  to  say  that  it  is  competent  for  any 
gentleman  to  call  for  the  division  of  any  question,  before  a  legislative 
body,  which  is  susceptible  of  a  division.  There  are  five  or  six  dis 
tinct  propositions  in  the  report  of  the  Committee ;  and  any  gentleman 
who  desires  to  have  the  question  taken  upon  each  proposition,  has  a 
right  to  call  for  it,  under  general  parliamentary  law.  I  hope  the 
Convention  will  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  report  by  sec 
tions  ;  that  gentlemen  who  desire  to  be  heard  on  the  several  subjects 
connected  with  the  report,  shall  be  heard ;  and  I  would  propose,  after 
giving  full  opportunity  for  debate  upon  them,  at  eleven  o'clock 
to-morrow  morning  to  close  the  debate,  and  that  then  the  question 
shall  be  finally  put. 

Mr.  BUZBY  :  I  made  the  motion  simply  to  save  time,  in  order 
that,  having  considered  this  matter  of  free  banking,  we  might  proceed 
with  it.  I  am  obliged  to  my  colleague  (Mr.  FRALKY)  for  the  sug 
gestion  that  it  is  competent  for  me  to  call  for  a  division  of  the 
question,  and  I  propose  that  we  proceed  with  the  consideration  of  the 
question  of  a  free  banking  law  :  I  move,  therefore,  that  we  strike 
out  all  after  the  word  "  resolve,"  in  the  fourth  resolution,  and  substi 
tute  the  language  which  I  have  placed  in  the  hands  of  the 
Secretary. 

Mr.  VERMILYE,  of  New  York  :  I  move  the  adoption  of  the 

first  resolution. 


CURRENCY    AND    FINANCE.  149 

Mr.  TURPIN,  of  Chicago  :  I  move  to  erase  from  the  first 
resolution  all  after  the  word  "  thereof." 

Mr.  V ERMILYE  :  That  is  just  the  important  part  of  it ;  and  I 
hope  the  gentleman's  motion  will  not  prevail. 

Mr.  CHAMBERLAIN,  of  Albany :  I  move  that  the  business 

before  the  Convention  be  postponed,  that  we  adjourn  until  to-morrow 
morning  at  ten  o'clock,  and  that  in  the  meantime  this  report  be 
printed  upon  slips,  for  the  use  of  the  members.  I  am  not  prepared 
to  vote  upon  it  until  I  can  have  it  before  me  in  that  shape. 

Mr.  IjRITTON  I  These  are  very  important  propositions.  It  is 
impossible  for  the  Convention,  at  present,  to  understand  precisely 
what  is  contained  in  the  report.  It  should  be  printed,  by  all  means. 
We  have  ample  time  for  it.  The  business  of  the  Convention  will  be 
facilitated  by  now  passing  over  this  report,  and  having  it  printed,  so 
that  each  member  may,  to-morrow  morning,  understand  what  it  con 
tains.  I  second  the  motion. 

Mr.  STRANAHAN  :  I  move  that  we  adjourn  to  to-morrow  morn 
ing,  at  ten  o'clock,  with  the  understanding  that  the  question  shall  be 
taken  upon  the  report  of  the  Committee,  as  a  whole,  at  twelve  o'clock 
to-morrow. 

Mr.  FORSYTH,  of  Troy  :  I  hope  no  such  motion  will 
prevail. 

Mr.  ROPES  :  I  hope  so,  too. 

Mr.  FORSYTE  :  I  do  not  see,  for  my  part,  why  we  cannot 
proceed  now  with  business.  I  live  only  two  hundred  miles  from 
here,  and  it  would  make  no  difference  to  me  if  we  should  adjourn 
over  until  Monday  morning,  so  that  I  might  go  home,  as  the  members 
of  the  New  York  Legislature  do  ;  but  there  are  gentlemen  here  who 
cannot  stay  all  the  week  to  dispose  of  the  report  of  this  Committee, 
and  why  can  we  not  take  a  vote  upon  it  now  ? 

Mr.  STRANAHAN  :  With  the  leave  of  the  house,  I  will  with 
draw  my  motion,  and  move  that  we  pass  over  this  business.  I  un 
derstand  there  are  some  other  matters  to  be  brought  before  the  Con 
vention.  My  object  was  simply  to  enable  the  members  to  vote  under- 
standingly  upon  the  report. 

The  motion  to  postpone  and  print  was  carried. 
Mr.  STEVENS,  of  New  York,  offered  the  following 
resolution,  which  wras  adopted  : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention,  in  view  of  the  bill  now  before 
Congress,  proposing  a  reduction  of  the  value  of  the  American  dollar 


150  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

to  that  of  the  five  franc  piece  of  France,  respectfully  urge  the  impro 
priety  of  such  action,  without  a  limitation  which  will  maintain  the 
integrity  of  existing  contracts. 

Mr.  NELSON,  of  Chicago  :  I  call  for  the  report  of  the  Com 
mittee  to  whom  was  referred  the  resolution  of  Mr.  WALBUIDGE. 

Mr.  HoLTON  :  I  suppose  I  hold  in  my  hand  the  report  to 
which  the  gentleman  refers.  Before  reading  it,  I  beg  to  say,  what  I 
think  is  true  of  a  majority  of  the  Committee,  (for  there  is  to  be  a 
minority  report,)  that  they  deeply  sympathized  with  the  gentleman's 
proposition,  in  many  aspects  in  which  they  viewed  it  ;  but  the  more 
they  looked  at  it,  and  the  longer  they  looked  at  it,  the  more  clearly 
did  they  come  to  the  conclusion  which  I  shall  presently  state.  I 
wish,  before  that,  to  disabuse  the  Convention  of  a  wrong  impression 
which  they  may  entertain  from  a  remark  that  I  made,  that  I  thought 
the  Committee  had  considered  the  subject  matter  contained  in  this 
resolution.  I  find  that  I  was  under  a  misapprehension  ;  that  the 
Committee  had  not  considered  any  of  the  material  points  embraced 
therein,  and  that  they  were  therefore  entirely  unprejudiced. 

The  Committee  beg  leave  to  report,  as  follows  : 

The  Committee  to  whom  was  referred  the  resolution  introduced  by 
the  Hon.  HIRAM  WALBKIDGE,  having  duly  considered  the  same, 
recommend  its  indefinite  postponement,  and  ask  to  be  discharged 
from  its  further  consideration. 

The  report  was  accepted. 

Mr.  BRYSON  :  In  behalf  of  a  minority  of  the  Committee,  I  pre 
sent  a  report  in  the  following  resolution,  and  I  move  its  adoption  as 
a  substitute  : 


,  That  this  Convention  do  hereby  respectfully  request  the 
national  Congress  to  exercise  such  power  as  is  conferred  upon  it  by 
the  Constitution  to  regulate  the  commerce  between  the  different 
States,  so  that  the  monopolies  of  through  railroad  lines  shall  not  be 
permitted  to  prevent  the  construction  of  through  lines  for  the  general 
benefit  ;  and  that  no  discrimination  shall  be  made  against  through 
travel  or  commerce. 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order  in  regard  to  the 
minority  report.  A  resolution,  presented  by  a  gentleman,  was  re 
ferred  to  the  Transportation  Committee  ;  the  minority  report  is  not  a 
report  upon  the  original  resolution,  but  a  separate  and  distinct  reso 
lution,  offered  in  its  stead. 


INTER-STATE    COMMERCE.  151 

The  PRESIDENT  :  The  Chair  thinks  the  gentleman's  point  of 
order  is  not  well  taken. 

Mr.  BilYSON  :  Allow  me  to  say,  that  I  read  this  resolution  be- 
fore  the  Committee.  They  considered  that  it  embraced  the  subjects 
to  which  the  original  resolution  related  ;  but  as  the  majority  were 
opposed  to  passing  it,  and  were  in  favor  of  the  report,  which  lias  been 
presented  by  the  Chairman,  they  unanimously  consented  that  this 
might  be  offered  to  the  house  in  order  that  it  might  be  passed  upon 
here. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  I  am  willing  to  accept  the  resolution  as  a 
substitute  for  the  one  offered  by  me,  and  second  its  adoption. 

Mr.  NAZRO  :  I  hope  the  resolution  will  not  pass.  It  raises  a 
very  serious  constitutional  question.  I  think  many  gentlemen  have 
grave  doubts  whether  Congress  has  the  constitutional  right  to  take 
the  action  contemplated  by  the  resolution,  and  I,  as  one  member  of 
this  Convention,  am  very  desirous  that  we  should  ask  nothing  of  Con 
gress  that  is  not  clearly  constitutional;  I  hope,  therefore,  that  the 
resolution,  in  that  form,  prejudging  the  matter,  and  telling  Congress 
that  it  is  constitutional  for  them  to  enact  such  a  law,  will  not  pass. 

Mr.  MuNN  :  Bear  with  me  one  moment.  I  may  be  a  little 
heavy,  but  I  will  not  be  long.  I  am  opposed  to  the  resolution,  upon 
the  same  ground  that  I  stated  previously.  I  do  not.  think  myself  that 
it  is  constitutional,  though  I  am  not  a  constitutional  lawyer.  It  is 
centralizing  power  too  much  in  the  General  Government.  If  the 
States  of  New  York  and  Pennsylvania  are  willing  to  sink  their 
sovereignty  for  the  sake  of  getting  rid  of  New  Jersey,  the  State  of 
Illinois  is  not  willing  to  do  it. 

Mr.  BRYSON  :  I  ask  for  two  or  three  minutes  to  explain.  [Calls 
of  u  Question,"  "  Question."] 

Mr.  NELSON :  While  I  would  deprecate  the  centralization 
of  power  in  Congress  equally  with  my  friend,  I  would  as 
strongly  deprecate  the  revival  of  the  extreme  State  rights  doc 
trine.  We  have  suffered  somewhat,  I  think,  from  that  source.  I 
think  there  is  quite  as  much  danger  of  our  suffering,  as  was  men 
tioned  this  morning,  in  consequence  of  some  little  territory,  acci 
dentally  stuck  in  here  and  there,  granting  a  monopoly  to  some  railroad, 
and  the  whole  country  made  to  endure  it;  and  inasmuch  as  this  reso 
lution  does  not  pretend  to  define  the  constitutional  power  of  Congress, 
as  I  understand  it,  I  cannot  see  where  we  are  laying  down  any  con 
stitutional  law  at  all.  We  simply  state,  as  the  judgment  of  this 
Convention,  that  these  monopolies,  interfering  with  our  freight  and 


152  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

travel,  nil  over  the  country,  are  a  nuisance.     That  is  all  we  want  to 
do,  and  I  believe  it  is  the  duty  of  the  Convention  to  do  that  much. 

Mr.  BLAKELY,  of  St.  Paul :  The  measure  under  considera 
tion  at  this  time,  as  I  understand  it,  is  the  minority  report  of  the 
Committee.  In  the  halls  of  Congress,  a  gentleman  who  makes  a 
report,  whether  minority  or  majority,  has  the  right  to  close  the  debate 
upon  the  matter  under  consideration.  The  gentleman  from  St.  Louis 
has  read  his  report,  but  has  not  advanced  a  single  argument  in  favor 
of  it ;  neither  has  any  other  gentleman  been  allowed  to  speak  in 
favor  of  it,  although  two  or  three  gentlemen  have  addressed  us 
against  it.  I  claim,  that  under  the  rules  of  Congress,  the  gentleman 
who  made  the  report  is  clearly  entitled  to  be  heard  in  answer  to  the 
objections  which  have  been  made,  and  I  ask  that  he  be  heard  the 
usual  length  of  time. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  FRAZAR,  of  Cincinnati,  leave  was 
granted  to  Mr.  BRYSOX  to  speak  ten  minutes. 

Mr.  COVINGTON,  of  Cincinnati  :  I  wish  only  to  occupy  the 
time  of  the  Convention  a  very  few  minutes.  I  cannot  for  the  life  of 
me  understand  why  this  Convention,  which  has  to-day  recommended 
the  building  of  ship-canals  from  the  lakes  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  leading 
out  to  the  Atlantic,  on  that  route,  and  connecting  the  lakes  with  the 
Mississippi  River  by  way  of  the  Illinois  River  over  a  route  where  the 
water  is  so  low,  for  six  months  of  the  year,  that  it  is  not  possible  to 
navigate  those  streams,  —  I  say,  I  cannot  understand  why  this  Con 
vention,  which  has  expressed  itself  in  favor  of  such  measures,  should 
object  to  this  resolution,  which  has  for  its  object  the  securing  of  the 
right  to  go  from  one  section  of  the  country  to  another. 

Now,  gentlemen,  I  may  not,  and  probably  do  not,  understand  this 
question;  but  I  want  to  say  this,  —  there  seems  to  be  a  glaring 
inconsistency  in  this  matter.  The  gentleman  from  Chicago  (Mr. 
MUNN)  has  raised  a  question  about  the  right  of  the  Government  to 
interfere.  Now,  I  am  not  very  old,  but  I  am  old  enough  to  remem 
ber  when  the  Government  built  a  national  road  extending  from 
Baltimore  to  St.  Louis ;  and  the  rights  of  the  States  were  not  then 
thought  to  have  been  infringed.  HENRY  CLAY  was  the  projector  of 
that  enterprise ;  and  just  outside  the  City  of  Wheeling  stands  the 
monument  to  that  great  man  which  the  people  of  the  West  have 
erected  in  honor  of  the  part  he  took  in  carrying  forward  that  great 
national  work. 

Then  the  gentleman  speaks  of  the  centralization  of  power  in  the 
General  Government.  I  want  him  to  recollect  that  there  is  a  great 


INTEli-STATE    TKAFFIC.  153 

centralizing  power  in  the  railroads.  Railroad  monopolies  are  more 
to  be  feared  than  the  centralization  of  power  in  the  Congress  of  the 
United  States.  (Applause.)  Gentlemen,  the  people  of  this  wintry 
send  the  members  of  Congress  to  Washington,  and  they  can  exert  an 
influence  upon  their  representatives.  We  in  Ohio  can  tell  our  r.-pre- 
sentatives  how  to  vote  on  this  question;  you,  gentlemen  from  St. 
Louis,  and  you,  gentlemen  from  Minnesota,  can  do  the  same  tli.ng; 
but  when  the  State  of  New  Jersey  undertakes  to  prevent  us  from 
travelling  across  her  territory  unless  we  pay  tribute,  who  of  us  has 
authority  to  say  a  single  word? 

I  do  hope  that  this  Convention  will  not  hastily  throw  this  subject 
on  one  side.  Give  it  a  careful  consideration.  It  is  an  important 
matter,  and  ought  to  have  the  attention  of  the  Convention.  I  do  not 
want  to  dictate  to  Congress  what  they  shall  do.  If  they  think  it 
unconstitutional,  let  them,  so  decide ;  but  do  not  let  us  decide  for 
them.  I  understand  the  resolution  to  be  merely  a  recommendation, 
and  there  certainly  can  be  no  objection  to  our  sending  this  out, 
as  we  sent  out  the  other  propositions  in  reference  to  internal  im 
provements. 

Mr.  HOLTOIS' :  I  dislike  to  occupy  one  moment  of  the  time,  but 
I  wish  to  say  that  the  Committee,  in  considering  this  matter,  found 
that  our  whole  seventy  thousand  miles  of  railroad  in  this  country  is 
the  creature  of  the  States;  that  it  is  you  in  Massachusetts,  you  in 
Ohio,  you  in  Pennsylvania,  you  in  Wisconsin,  you  in  Illinois,  who 
have  originated  these  railroads  from  point  to  point,  and  from  centre 
to  centre,  and  that  under  the  benign  and  fostering  care  of  your  own 
State  Legislatures,  they  have  gone  on  with  gigantic  momentum,  with 
immense  power,  beyond  anything  that  has  been  known  before  in  the 
history  of  any  country,  to  their  present  point, — unfinished,  immature, 
but  still  the  great  agents  of  the  nation's  prosperity.  It  is  proposed 
by  this  resolution  to  interfere,  in  a  great  measure,  with  the  legislation 
that  has  begotten  these  great  enterprises.  It  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  there  is  a  natural  disposition  in  every  community,  to  take  sides 
against  a  local  corporation  ;  and  the  Committee  found,  that  the  further 
they  went  into  the  subject,  the  greater  did  it  spread  out  before  them, 
and  that  they  could  not,  without  more  reflection  than  could  be 
given  to  the  subject  here,  make  an  ailirmative  report,  taking  this 
matter  out  of  the  hands  of  the  States  and  carrying  it  up  to  Congress, 
seeing  that  to  concentrate  the  question  there  would  be  to  call  the 
whole  lobby  of  the  country  there  upon  it.  That  was  our  view.  Not 
that  every  gentleman  did  not  feel  aggrieved  and  indignant  at  the 
course  which  New  Jersey  has  pursued  for  fifteen  or  twenty  years,  but 

20 


154  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

upon  the  whole,  it  was  the  judgment  of  the  majority  of  the  Committee, 
(some  of  whom  were  at  first  ready  to  support  the  resolution)  that  \\e 
could  not  act  upon  it  now  —  that  it  ought  to  he  considered  perhaps 
five  years  longer.  It  was  proposed  at  one  stage  of  our  deliberations 
to  turn  it  over  to  the  National  Chamher  of  Commerce,  but  we  found 
we  had  no  right  to  communicate  with  that  body.  But  the  question 
was  whether  there  could  be  time  for  reflection ;  and  we  felt,  (with  no 
disrespect  to  the  learned  and  able  gentleman  from  New  York  or  any 
gentleman  who  supports  his  resolution)  that  we  could  not  deal  with  so 
grave  a  question,  in  the  unfinished,  incomplete  and  inchoate  position 
in  which  it  stands. 

Mr.  BLAKELY  :  I  regard  this  question  as  of  immense  import 
ance.  I  see,  looking  from  St.  Paul  towards  New  York,  the  Hudson 
River,  Harlem  and  New  York  Central  Railroads  consolidated  ;  and 
the  attempt  was  made  to  take  in  also  the  Lake  Shore  road,  and  I  do 
not  know  but  it  may  be  done,  for  I  believe  some  of  the  directors  of 
the  Central  belong  to  the  Lake  Shore,  and  it  looks  to  me  as  if  there 
was  even  now,  without  the  authority  of  legislation,  without  the  con 
sent  of  the  States,  a  consolidation  forming  of  immense  lines  of  railroad 
reaching  from  the  seaboard  almost  to  our  locality.  When  that  is  done, 
the  people  of  the  West  will  be  called  upon  to  pay  a  little  more  trans 
portation  money  than  they  do  now.  I  understand  that  these  com 
binations  in  the  West  are  affecting  us  already.  My  friend  who  has 
just  taken  his  seat,  lives  at  one  end  of  a  railroad,  and  I  live  at  the 
other  end  of  the  same  road ;  and  I  know  that  with  us  it  is  a  strife 
which  shall  own  the  State  —  whether  or  not  the  Mihvaukie  and 
St.  Paul  Railroad  shall  own  the  State,  or  the  Chicago  and  North 
western  Railroad.  That  is  the  position  in  which  we  find  ourselves; 
and  if  the  time  shall  ever  come  when  the  Mihvaukie  and  St.  Paul 
or  the  Chicago  and  Northwestern  shall  get  control  of  the  State,  God 
help  Minnesota ! 

Mr.  BltYSON  :  In  reply  to  the  gentleman  who  spoke  in  behalf 
of  the  interests  of  the  monopolists,  I  have  this  to  say,  that  there  is  no 
proposition  in  this  report  which  looks  to  affecting  any  railroad  that 
has  been  established.  There  is  nothing  more  in  the  language  than 
simply  this,  that  any  railroad  already  established  shall  not  control  the 
States,  so  that  no  other  good  road,  which  would  be  beneficial  to  the 
different  States,  shall  be  built.  It  merely  says  that  you  shall  not  first 
build  a  line  through  a  State,  and  then  say  to  the  people  of  every  other 
State,  "  You  shall  pass  over  this  line."  Furthermore,  I  wish  to  state, 
that  it  does  not  interfere  with  the  railroads  in  their  internal  workings 


NATIONAL    RAILROAD    LEGISLATION.  155 

in  the  States.  But  suppose  we  are  situated  on  the  other  side  of  the 
Mississippi.  Take,  for  instance,  Missouri.  She  has  commerce ;  she 
has  to  travel  with  goods  to  New  York,  Philadelphia  and  Boston. 
Now,  if  the  State  of  Illinois  can  say,  "  We  will  sustain  a  monopoly, 
and,  as  other  States  have  done,  we  will  impose  a  tax  upon  through 
travel,  and  will  discriminate  against  it;"  unless  there  is  power  in  the 
United  States  to  say  that  this  shall  not  be  done,  and  that  freedom 
shall  be  given  to  every  State  in  the  Union,  then  Missouri  must  pay 
just  what  Illinois  pleases.  If  she  can  impose  one  cent  in  this  way, 
she  can  impose  a  million  dollars.  It  is  the  question  of  right. 

But  I  wish  to  call  your  attention  to  the  fact,  that  we  do  not  propose 
to  enact  the  law  ;  we  simply  carry  the  question  up  to  the  constitutional 
lawyers  of  the  Supreme  Court,  to  the  United  States  in  its  National 
Congress,  and  say,  "  Gentlemen,  consider  this  subject.  Is  it  right,  is 
it  fit,  that  one  State  should  be  permitted  to  bar  the  privileges  and 
rights  of  through  commerce?"  We  only  say  "through  commerce;" 
there  is  nothing  about  local  commerce  or  local  State  interests.  If  the 
right  be  conceded,  where  is  our  National  Government?  Then  Illinois 
could  say,  if  the  armies  of  the  United  States  were  to  be  fed  in  the 
West,  "  We  will  stop  those  provisions  by  taxing  them  a  million  dollars 
on  every  hundred  pounds."  Then  Kentucky  was  right  in  saying, 
"  Troops  shall  not  pass  through  our  territory  to  conquer  the  South." 
If  that  was  not  right,  is  it  right  to  impose  a  tariff  upon  through  com 
merce  and  travel.  All  we  ask  is  this,  that  no  State  shall  be  allowed 
to  impose  restrictions  upon  or  in  any  way  to  cripple  the  commercial 
interests  of  other  States  beyond  them. 

With  these  few  remarks,  I  leave  it  to  the  Convention  to  decide 
•whether  we  should  ask  the  attention  of  Congress  to  this  subject,  in 
volving,  as  it  does,  such  vast  interests.  That  is  all  we  propose  to  do. 
We  only  ask  Congress  to  consider  the  question  whether  one  State 
may  in  any  way  restrict  the  through  commerce  of  another  State.  I 
think,  sir,  that  this  Convention  will  certainly  vote  for  my  proposition, 
for  it  is  for  the  interest  of  the  whole  country  that  the  produce  of  the 
West  shall  find  the  cheapest  markets  in  the  nation.  If  there  are 
more  lines,  the  greater  will  be  the  competition ;  and  if  you  say  Con 
gress  is  to  make  laws  for  the  general  benefit,  why  not  permit  capital 
to  be  used  for  the  benefit  of  the  Western  States,  which  have  the 
produce  to  sell,  and  of  the  Eastern  States,  which  want  that  produce 
at  the  cheapest  rates?  We  do  not  decide  upon  the  constitutionality 
of  such  an  enactment ;  we  simply  call  the  attention  of  Congress  to  the 
subject,  and  I  am  certain  that  the  constitutional  lawyers  will  take 
cognizance  of  that  fact  when  they  come  to  consider  it. 


156  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  I  ask  the  unanimous  consent  of  the  Con 
vention  to  a  modification  of  my  original  resolution,  which  I  think  will 
relieve  the  Convention,  and  accomplish  the  object,  and  meet  the  con 
currence  of  the  majority  as  well  as  of  the  minority  of  the  Com* 
mittee. 

The  modification  I  propose  is  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  considers  it  important  to  the  general 
interests  of  the  people  of  the  whole  United  States,  that  the  National 
Government  shall  now  promptly  exercise  whatever  constitutional 
right  is  exclusively  vested  in  it  to  regulate  the  means  of  trade  and 
commerce  between  the  American  people  in  all  sections  of  the  country, 
as  it  has  always  done  in  reference  to  trade  and  commerce  between 
them  and  foreign  nations,  and  that,  holding  these  opinions,  this  Con 
vention  hereby  recognizes  the  propriety  of  congressional  action  in 
nationalizing  the  railway  system  in  the  way  that  it  has  lately  nation 
alized  the  telegraph  system,  by  authorizing  companies  to  extend  their 
lines  all  over  the  United  States,  wherever  and  whenever  the  public 
interests  may  require. 

I  trust  that  this  resolution  will  have  the  unanimous  sanction  of  this 
intelligent  body.  I  think  the  Convention  will  make  a  mistake  if  they 
fail  to  pass  it.  We  have  lately  crystallized  this  nation.  We  have 
said  that  these  States  are  component  parts  of  one  great  Federal 
Union.  If  we  refuse  to  pass  this  resolution,  we  are  going  back  to 
that  condition  of  affairs  which  recognized  State  rights.  I  thought, 
when  we  took  three  hundred  thousand  men  and  laid  them  in  their 
narrow  graves,  —  when  we  mortgaged  indefinitely  the  resources 
of  this  Republic  to  level  that  standard  of  State  rights, — we  had  buried 
it  so  deep  that  it  would  never  more  spring  up  forever.  (Loud 
applause.)  I  had  fondly  imagined  that  the  sacrifices  we  have  made, 
had  demonstrated  that  this  was  to  be  an  united,  harmonious,  and 
homogeneous  people  ;  and  that  that  flag,  under  which  we  had  tri 
umphed  from  the  Atlantic  seaboard  to  the  golden  shores  of  the 
Pacific,  was  to  float  over  one  people.  I  find  that  I  have  been  mis 
taken  ;  that  this  idea  of  State  rights  still  lingers  in  the  breasts  of 
some.  I  ask  for  no  special  privileges;  I  ask  for  no  land  ;  I  a.-k  for 
no  subsidy.  I  only  ask  that  freedom  shall  exist ;  that  if  the  capital 
ists  of  Boston  or  New  York  desire  to  build  a  road  alongside  of  the 
railroad  of  my  friend,  the  able  and  accomplished  President  of  the 
line  from  Pittsburgh  to  Fort  Wayne  and  Chicago,  Congress  may 
authorize  them  to  do  it,  and  that  there  shall  be  open  and  free  com- 


NATIONAL    RAILROAD    LEGISLATION.  157 

petition.  The  Congress  of  the  United  States,  in  this  era,  is  not  the 
Congress  of  the  ems  that  have  preceded  it.  This  is  a  liberal  Con 
gress.  In  response  to  the  sentiments  of  the  American  people,  they 
have  recently  passed  a  law  that  any  three,  four,  five,  six  or  seven 
gentlemen  are  competent  to  construct  a  telegraphic  line,  wherever 
and  whenever  they  please.  1  know  not  how  many  lines  there  are 
between  this  city  and  the  great  metropolis  of  the  nation  ;  but  if  our 
respected  President  and  Secretary  here  desire  to  build  another,  they 
have  the  right  to  do  it ;  and  the  law  provides,  that  if  they  run  over 
the  territories  of  the  United  States,  they  may  use  the  land  of  the 
United  States  for  its  construction.  We  desire,  that  when  the  nation 
is  rising  to  a  higher  plane,  a  loftier  elevation, — when  the  business 
men  of  the  country  are  coming  forward  to  develop  the  resources  of 
the  nation  and  restore  it  to  its  pristine  glory,  they  may  have  liberty 
to  construct  lines  of  communication  wherever  they  please,  unob 
structed  by  the  action  of  any  State.  We  ask  no  subsidy,  I  repeat ; 
we  ask  no  money  ;  we  only  desire  that  we  may  respond  to  the  wants 
of  this  great  people,  and  construct  our  lines  wherever  the  public 
interests  may  demand  ;  and  we  ask  the  government  to  give  us  this 
liberty.  This  is  all.  If  you  desire  that  I  shall  not  reflect  upon  State 
legislation,  I  strip  the  resolution  of  its  verbiage,  and  bring  it  down  to 
the  naked  question,  "  Shall  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  suffer 
means  of  communication  to  be  established  between  the  different  States 
of  the  Union,  wherever  capital  is  willing  to  make  the  investment,  in 
response  to  the  demands  of  the  business  interests  of  the  country  ?  " 

One  word  in  conclusion.  No  sordid  personal  motive  animates  me 
in  the  consideration  of  this  or  any  other  public  question.  For 
twenty-five  years  I  have  been  in  the  habit  of  speaking  to  my  coun 
trymen  upon  public  men,  and  concerning  public  measures;  and  in  all 
that  time,  I  challenge  any  voice  to  say  that  the  suspicion  of  personal 
interest  has  ever  been  on  the  garments  of  him  who  has  the  honor  to 
address  you. 

Mr.  FRALEY  :   I  object  to  Mr.  WALBRIDGE'S  proposition,  and 
prefer  the  resolution  of  the  minority. 

The  question  was  then  put,  and  Mr.  BRYSON'S  reso 
lution  was  substituted   for   the  majority  report,  and 

adopted. 

The  Convention  then  adjourned,  to  meet  on  Satur 
day,  at  ten  o'clock  in  the  forenoon. 


FOURTH  DAY. 

SATURDAY,  FEBRUARY  8,  1868. 


THE  Convention  was  called  to  order  at  a  quarter 
past  ten  o'clock,  by  the  President,  and  prayer  wrs 
offered  by  the  Rev.  ROB'T  LAIRJD  COLLIER,  of  Chicago. 
The  reading  of  the  Journal  was  dispensed  with. 

Mr.  BRUXOT  offered  the  following  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  after  the  vote  shall  have  been  taken  upon  the 
report  of  the  Committee  on  Currency  and  Finance,  no  new  business 
shall  be  introduced  into  the  Convention,  unless  by  unanimous 
consent. 

Mr.  BRUNOT  :  The  object  of  this  is  to  prevent  what  we  should 
all  regret,  that  the  business  which  has  made  progress  so  satisfactorily 
should  be  marred  by  any  hasty  action  upon  new  subjects,  and  especi 
ally  after  many  of  the  members  may  have  left. 

The  resolution  was  unanimously  adopted. 

Mr.  FRALEY  :  If  there  be  no  reports  of  Committees  to  come  in, 
I  move  that  we  now  proceed  to  the  consideration  of  the  report  of 
the  Committee  on  Currency  and  Finance  ;  and  I  would  say,  that  my 
view  upon  it  is,  to  give,  for  such  reasonable  period  as  the  Convention 
may  seem  disposed  to  allow,  the  freest  scope  for  the  introduction  of 
amendments  to  the  report ;  that  each  gentleman  who  has  an  amend 
ment  to  offer  shall  offer  it,  and  state  his  views  in  regard  to  it,  and 
that  then  it  shall  be  informally  laid  upon  the  table  ;  and  when  the 
debate  is  closed,  we  will  proceed  to  take  the  question  upon  each 
amendment,  unless  the  Convention  shall  otherwise  order.  My  object 
is  to  give  to  every  gentleman  a  full  and  free  opportunity  to  present  his 
views  upon  this  interesting  question,  in  the  same  way  that  the  fullest 
expression  was  allowed  in  the  Committee  from  which  this  report 
came. 

Mr.  ROPES,  of  Boston  :  Mr.  President,  I  rise  to  move  the 
adoption  of  the  first  resolution  ;  and  I  do  it  with  the  greatest  satisfac 
tion,  because  I  believe  that  the  series  of  resolutions  which  the  Corn- 


160  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

inittce  have  agreed  upon,  furnishes  a  broad  basis  of  general  principles 
on  which  we  can  for  the  most  part  stand  together.  I  do  not  pretend 
to  say  that  they  express  all  my  own  views,  or  all  the  truth.  No 
resolutions  could  express  the  whole  truth  on  such  a  subject.  Some 
of  us  would  go  much  farther,  and  many  would  not  go  so  far,  but  on 
the  whole  we  can  all  accept  them.  Nothing  has  been  more  gratify 
ing  and  satisfactory  in  this  Convention,  than  the  fact  that  merchants 
and  men  of  business,  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  East,  West,  North, 
and  in  part  the  South,  are  able  to  agree  on  some  general  principles 
which  they  alike  recognize,  and  are  willing  to  adopt.  I  am  happj  to 
see  gentlemen  from  Chicago  and  Detroit  take  the  broad  ground  that 
we  have  but  one  true  and  honest  standard  of  value,  and  that  is  the 
gold  coin  of  the  United  States;  and  that  no  permanent  departure 
from  that  standard  is  to  be  recognized  or  tolerated.  I  rejoice  to  see 
that  our  Western  friends  have  no  desire  to  make  capital  out  of  irre 
deemable  paper ;  and  they  may  be  assured  that  we  at  the  East  have 
no  wish  for  a  monopoly  of  currency  or  banking.  Quoting  in  part  the 
language  employed  yesterday  upon  this  floor,  I  would  affirm  that  of 
all  the  quackery  with  which  our  financial  system  has  been  cursed, 
there  is  none  so  absurd,  so  mischievous,  so  ridiculous  as  to  suppose 
that  the  wealth  of  a  country  can  be  increased  by  issues  of  irredeem 
able  paper.  There  is  but  one  standard  of  value  available,  and  that  is 
specie  ;  when  that  is  reestablished,  we  can  safely  have  free  banking, 
and  not  before.  Our  Western  friends  are  welcome  to  issue  as  much 
currency  as  they  please,  provided  they  will  redeem  it  in  coin.  Until 
that  can  be  done,  not  another  dollar  of  paper  should  be  issued.  By 
all  means  let  us  have,  as  General  BUTLER  proposes,  a  thousand  mil 
lions  of  paper,  but  with  this  condition  which  General  BUTLER  does  not 
propose,  that  every  dollar  of  it  be  redeemable  in  coin. 

It  has  been  suggested  in  the  minority  report,  that  new  greenbacks 
should  be  issued  to  take  the  place  of  compound  interest  notes  with 
drawn  from  circulation.  But,  sir,  when  those  compound  interest 
notes  were  issued,  it  was  well  understood  that  it  was  done  as  the  last 
resort  of  an  utterly  exhausted  treasury,  and  in  the  expectation  that 
they  would  not  permanently  serve  as  currency,  but  would  gradually 
be  gathered  up,  and  withdrawn  from  circulation  as  investments,  until 
their  maturity.  But  I  am  sorry  to  say  the  banks  gathered  up  these 
notes,  and  locked  them  up  in  their  vaults,  both  as  investments  and  as 
reserves  of  "lawful  money,"  thus  evading  the  law,  and  released  their 
greenbacks  to  go  all  over  the  country,  and  produce  an  enormous  in 
flation  ;  .and  then,  when  we  earne  to  the  banks  to  draw  our  money, 
they  had  nothing  but  compound  interest  notes  to  give  us  ;  and  this 


TAXATION    OF    GOVERNMENT    BONDS.  161 

scarcity  of  their  own  creating  caused  the  pressure  for  money  so  per 
sistently,  but  falsely  charged  upon  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury. 
We  do  not  want  currency,  we  want  capital ;  and  above  all,  we  want 
a  sound  measure  of  value.  We  want  to  come  to  this  as  wisely,  as 
gradually,  as  prudently  as  possible,  but  we  never  shall  have  peace  or 
safety  till  we  get  to  it. 

Mr.  NAZRO  :  I  have  an  amendment  which  I  desire  to  offer  to 
the  Convention. 

Mr.  TURPIN,  Of  Chicago  :  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  My 
point  of  order  is  this  :  yesterday  afternoon  I  moved  to  strike  out  of 
the  first  resolution  all  after  the  word  "  thereof."  That  question  is 
first  in  order  this  morning.  The  Convention  postponed  action,  and 
agreed  to  take  it  up  this  morning. 

Mr.  FRALEY  :  The  gentleman  can  move  his  amendment  imme 
diately  after  Mr.  NAZRO. 

Mr.  NAZRO  :  The  amendment  I  propose  is  in  the  form  of  an 
additional  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  bonds  of  the  United  States  already  issued  were 
exempted  by  law  from  taxation  ;  and  that  having  thus  been  issued,  it 
would  be  a  violation  of  the  law  of  contracts  to  impose  a  tax  upon 
them  now,  as  well  as  a  breach  of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  Gov 
ernment. 

Mr.  TURPIN  :  I  again  move  to  strike  out  all  of  the  first  resolu 
tion  after  the  word  "  thereof." 

The  ten  minutes'  rule  of  this  Convention,  wisely  adopted,  will  of 
course  prevent  any  extended  discussion ;  but  I  wish  to  state  one  or 
two  facts,  which  I  think  may  be  of  use. 

We  think,  in  the  West,  that  we  are  scarcely  yet  ready  for  a  con 
traction  of  the  currency.  I  wish  to  state,  especially  to  gentlemen  on 
the  Eastern  seaboard,  that  at  the  commencement  of  the  war  of  the 
rebellion,  the  entire  banking  capital  of  Illinois,  some  forty  millions  of 
money,  was  wiped  out  at  once,  as  if  by  tire.  The  West  has  great 
resources,  but  it  requires  some  time  to  develop  them  ;  and  we  are 
anxious  to  gain  a  little  more  time  in  this  matter  of  the  currency. 

The  want  of  a  circulating  medium  in  the  Western  country  is  not 
only  destructive  to  our  own  interests,  but  I  think  I  can  show,  by  the 
statement  of  a  single  fact,  is  also  injurious  to  the  people  of  the  East. 
The  exorbitant  interest  we  are  required  to  pay  not  only  in  discounts, 
but  in  commissions  on  acceptances,  must  be  added  to  the  cost  of  the 

21 


162  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

articles  we  produce.  That  is  a  law  of  trade  ;  and  while  we  suffer 
from  the  want  of  currency,  we  have  to  add  to  the  cost  of  it,  the  inter 
ests  and  discounts  which  we  pay  in  the  West,  and  this  finally  comes 
out  of  those  who  consume  what  we  produce  and  sell. 

Mr.  DORE,  of  Chicago  :  •  It  would  be  far  more  pleasant  for 
us  of  the  West  to  agree  with  you  of  the  East  touching  this  matter,  if 
we  deemed  it  expedient  to  do  so.  We  realize,  as  well  as  anybody 
who  resides  in  the  East  possibly  can,  that  our  currency  is  below  par ; 
that  is  to  say,  it  is  virtually  diseased ;  but,  as  with  the  human  body 
diseased,  so  with  the  currency,  nature,  or,  if  not  nature,  the  condition 
of  things  to  be,  if  not  now  existing,  should,  in  the  main,  be  relied 
upon  for  a  cure.  The  extent  of  this  disease  is  measured  exactly  by 
the  depreciation  of  the  currency.  If  everybody  in  the  country  sin 
cerely  believed  that  the  Government  would  fulfil  its  obligations,  the 
disparity  between  the  price  of  gold  and  the  value  of  the  currency 
would  not  exist.  The  depreciation  of  the  currency,  therefore, 
measures  precisely  the  want  of  confidence  on  the  part  of  the  commu 
nity  that  the  Government  will  fulfil  its  obligations.  First  and  fore 
most,  then,  what  we  want  is  confidence,  and  we  cannot  have  confidence 
without  stability.  The  constant  apprehension  that  the  volume  of  the 
currency  will  be  materially  increased  or  diminished,  has  seriously 
retarded  legitimate  business  enterprises  in  every  part  of  the  country. 
The  question  naturally  arises,  Whence  this  lack  of  confidence  ?  The 
reply  is  too  evident :  the  greatly-increased  expenditures  of  the 
Government,  and  the  failure  of  the  Government  to  collect  the  rev 
enue.  The  people  of  the  country  are  not  yet  able  to  quite  understand 
why  it  was  necessary  to  expend  more  than  two  hundred  per  cent,  to 
pay  the  expenses  of  the  Government  in  1867,  over  what  it  cost  to  do 
this  in  1801.  The  people  do  not  believe  that  it  is  necessary  to  expend 
thirty  or  forty  millions, — and  certainly  not  forty-seven  millions, — 
upon  the  navy.  Why,  sir,  if  it  were  put  to  the  vote,  the  people  of 
this  country,  in  my  judgment,  would  vote  that  it  would  be  far  better 
that  three-fourths  of  the  navy  should  be  burned,  than  continue  such 
an  annual  expense.  The  nation  is  by  no  means  so  easily  frightened 
as  to  deem  it  requisite  to  keep  up  such  a  show  of  marine  power. 
Moreover,  sir,  I  contend  that  the  people  are  not  able  to  understand 
why  it  should  be  necessary  to  spend  eighty-three  millions  of  money 
upon  the  army,  or  anything  like  that  ;  certainly  not  more  than  one- 
half.  Why,  sir,  who  wants  to  go  to  war  with  us  ?  or  with  whom  do 
we  want  to  go  to  war?  (Applause.)  A  Government  founded  like 
ours,  upon  the  intelligence  and  the  affections  of  the  people,  numbers 


CURRENCY   AT    THE    WEST.  163 

its  standing  army,  as  has  been  proved,  only  by  the  number  of  its  male 
citizens  capable  of  bearing  arms.  (Applause.) 

I  say,  then,  let  these  expenses  be  reduced,  and  every  other  govern 
mental  expense  that  can  be.  Sir,  let  it  be  borne  in  mind  tli«t  the 
great  disturbing  element  of  this  nation  is  now  no  more,  and  that  the 
interests  of  every  section  of  the  country  are  so  far  identical  as  to  be 
promoted  only  by  measures  of  peace.  Ceasing  to  fear  one  another, 
we  by  no  means  need  fear  anybody  else.  (Applause.)  Let  it  be 
borne  in  mind  —  forever  borne  in  mind  —  that  every  dollar  of  money 
unnecessarily  expended,  either  upon  the  army  or  the  navy,  is  unpro- 
ductively  expended,  and  therefore  utterly  destroyed.  (Applause.) 
And,  further,  that  this  nation  can  well  depart  from  the  custom  of  the 
old  world  in  spending  its  vital  energies  upon  means  of  defence  — 
standing  armies  and  great  navies. 

Let  these  things  be  done,  and  then  let  Congress  so  modify  the  law, 
if  it  needs  modification,  that  it  will  be  utterly  impossible  for  those 
who  defraud  the  Government,  purposely,  to  escape  the  penitentiary. 
(Applause.)  I  undertake  to  say,  that  so  long  as  the  stealings  of  a 
week  can  purchase  immunity  from  punishment  for  the  frauds  of 
a  month,  the  collection  of  the  revenue  can  never  be  honestly  made. 

We  of  the  West  are  of  opinion,  that  prior  to  the  war,  we  never  had 
currency  enough  to  transact  our  business.  There  was  too  much  ex 
temporized  paper,  altogether.  We  used  to  receive  drafts  in  our 
legitimate,  business  — ic  A.  pay  B."  —  "  B.  pay  C."  —  "  C.  pay  D." 
until  there  was  no  more  room  to  write  upon  the  paper.  We  did  not 
know,  when  it  got  down  to  Boston  or  New  York,  whether  it  would 
be  paid  or  not. 

I  wish  to  say,  furthermore,  that  I  think  there  is  one  great  de 
sideratum  to  be  borne  in  mind.  If  I  am  rightly  informed,  we  had 
not,  at  the  commencement  of  the  war,  anything  like  the  amount  of 
currency,  per  capita,  which  they  had  in  foreign  countries  — -  not  quite 
half,  I  think.  The  argument  would  be  that  we  should  have  much 
more.  Why  ?  Because,  on  account  of  the  extent  of  the  country,  a 
great  deal  of  time  is  expended  in  transit  in  order  to  enable  money  to 
perform  its  legitimate  function  of  exchange.  Moreover,  it  is  not  to 
be  forgotten  that  the  tendency  of  gold  itself  is  constantly  to  depre 
ciate.  There  are  those  present  who  are  much  better  acquainted  with 
this  matter  than  I  am.  I  apprehend  there  are  many  present  who  are 
fully  conversant  with  the  history  of  gold  as  a  medium  of  exchange, 
and  know  that  from  time  to  time  in  the  world's  history,  its  actual 
value  has  been  determined  by  the  amount  of  wheat  it  would  buy. 
Takin^  that  as  the  standard,  how  much  wheat  will  a  gold  dollar  buy 


164  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

to-day,  compared  with  what  it  would  buy  ten  years  ago?  Prior  to 
1840,  the  whole  coinage  of  the  United  States  was  less  than  two 
hundred  millions.  During  the  eighteen  years,  since  1849,  our  coin 
age  has  not  been  less  than  a  thousand  millions.  And  it  should  be 
borne  in  mind,  that  this  great  production  of  gold  has  not  been  con 
fined  to  us,  by  any  manner  of  means.  All  over  the  world,  there  have 
been  extraordinary  efforts  put  forth  for  the  production  of  gold.  Sir, 
Yankee  ingenuity  is  continually  on  the  stretch  to  devise  new  ma 
chines  to  extract  the  gold  from  the  mines  of  the  country  and  in  every 
other  country.  Now,  then,  what  I  apprehend  is  this,  that  since  we 
are  getting  out  the  gold  literally  by  the  ton  instead  of  by  the  ounce, 
as  in  years  gone  by,  the  time  is  not  distant  when  we  shall  be  able  to 
pay  a  large  portion  of  our  Government  debt,  and  not  feel  it  very 
much. 

Here  is  one  very  particular  point  to  which  I  wish  to  call  the  atten 
tion  of  the  Convention.  Supposing  we  have,  to-day,  twenty-five  per 
cent,  more  currency  than  we  want.  I  think  it  is  estimated  that  the 
entire  population  of  this  country  and  the  business  of  the  country  will 
be  duplicated  in  twenty  years.  How  many  years  would  it  take  us  to 
get  down  to  the  absolute  quantity,  simply  by  the  natural  increase  of 
the  population  and  business  of  the  country  ?  Just  five  years. 

Sir,  for  the  reasons  I  have  assigned,  I  do  not  want  the  volume  of 
currency  reduced. 

Mr.  BuXBY  :  Heartily  sympathizing  with  the  amendment 
which  has  been  submitted  by  the  gentleman  from  Chicago,  (Mr. 
TURPIN,)  I  desire  to  state  a  fact  which  I  happen  to  have  in  my 
possession,  which  seems  to  tell  in  favor  of  this  despised  paper  money, 
which  is  so  much  decried,  although  it  was  this  same  paper  money 
which  was  our  salvation  during  the  war.  The  price  of  gold,  in  May, 
18 Go,  was  one  hundred  and  thirty-seven  and  a  half,  and  the  amount 
of  legal  tenders  in  circulation  was  seven  hundred  and  fifty-two 
millions.  On  the  first  of  November,  1867, -the  actual  circulation 
was  reduced  to  five  hundred  millions,  and  the  price  of  gold  was  over 
one  hundred  and  forty.  That  is,  with  an  actual  decrease  in  the  cir 
culation  of  two  hundred  and  iilty-two  millions,  there  was  an  actual 
increase  of  three  per  cent,  in  the  price  of  gold.  Now,  this  fact  proves 
that  gold  has  been  demonetized,  and  is  an  article  of  merchandise,  and 
that  we  are  not  to  depreciate  our  paper  money  by  continually  quoting 
the  premium  on  gold.  Does  any  man  doubt  that  the  currency  of  this 
country,  based  as  it  is  upon  a  property  of  sixteen  thousand  millions 
of  dollars,  is  practically  as  much  a  representative  of  value  as  gold 
can  be  ? 


ECONOMY    AND    ITS    LIMITATIONS.  165 

I  merely  rose  to  support  the  amendment,  and  to  say  that  this  paper 
money  is  not  the  despicable  article  gentlemen  would  try  to  make  it 
appear,  and  that  it  would  be  for  our  interest  to  use  it,  instead  of 
making  war  upon  it,  and  thus  crippling  the  commercial  energies  of 
the  country. 

Mr.  WOOD,  of  Philadelphia  :  It  makes  very  little  difference 
what  we  call  our  circulating  medium, — whether  we  call  it  gold,  silver, 
or  paper,  if  it  contains  a  certain  value.  The  gentleman  said  that  gold 
is  demonetized  ;  the  same  as  other  metals  are.  It  makes  no  difference 
whether  we  call  them  money  or  merchandise,  if  they  pass  from  hand 
to  hand  bearing  a  certain  value.  Gentlemen  forget  that  a  gold  dollar 
represents  a  certain  amount  of  actual  labor.  It  takes  a  certain 
number  of  days  work,  a  certain  amount  of  pork,  to  represent  a  gold 
dollar,  and  it  represents  the  same  value  all  over  the  country  so  long 
as  the  supply  remains  the  same.  If  we  increase  the  supply  of  gold, 
of  course  a  gold  dollar  represents  a  less  amount  of  labor  than  before ; 
it  takes  a  less  amount  of  pork,  and  a  less  amount  of  bread  and  butter 
to  produce  it. 

The  gentleman  from  Chicago  remarked  that  the  gold  premium  was 
the  measure  of  the  distrust  which  the  people  of  the  United  States  felt 
in  the  Government's  paying  its  indebtedness.  I  think  he  is  a  little 
wrong  in  that.  I  think  it  is  not  so  much  the  measure  of  distrust  in 
this  country  as  the  measure  of  distrust  which  is  felt  abroad.  The 
people  of  Europe  would  gladly  invest  in  our  securities  if  they  felt 
absolute  certainty  that  our  bonds  would  be  paid  in  full.  They  would 
gladly  invest  in  them  at  six  per  cent,  rather  than  invest  their  money 
at  two  or  three  per  cent.,  as  they  have  for  the  last  year;  just  as  the 
people  of  the  Eastern  States  would  gladly  invest  in  the  securities  of 
the  West,  if  they  felt  perfectly  assured  they  would  be  paid. 

Something  has  been  said  with  reference  to  economy.  If  we  reduce 
the  expenses  of  the  Government  so  as  to  lessen  taxation,  we  shall 
have  specie  payments  in  a  short  time.  But  economy  may  degenerate 
into  parsimony,  which  is  a  bad  thing.  We  tried  the  experiment  of 
parsimony  before  the  war,  and  were  almost  ruined.  We  tried  man 
ning  our  forts  with  two  or  three  men,  and  we  know  what  it  cost  us. 
I  suppose  our  whole  debt  would  have  been  saved  if  we  had  had 
three  companies  of  United  States  troops  at  Charleston  and  three  at 
Savannah,  instead  of  a  handful  of  men  to  take  care  of  those  forts. 

It  is  said  that  currency  is  scarce  in  the  West,  and  that  Western 
men  need  money,  while  in  the  East,  at  present,  we  have  actually  a 
surplus ;  money  is  not  producing  the  legal  rate  of  interest  in  the 
Eastern  States ;  but  we  may  question  if  this  disparity  would  not  be 


160  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

the  same  if  the  circulating  currency  were  doubled,  and  whether  the 
business  of  the  country  would  not  draw  that  money  into  the  Eastern 
States.  Suppose  we  doubled  the  amount  of  currency  in  circulation, 
would  not  the  same  business  circumstances  draw  it  into  the  Eastern 
cities,  and  thus  the  disproportion  be  just  the  same  ?  So,  if  we  dimin 
ish  it  three  millions  a  month,  why  would  the  disparity  be  any  greater  ? 
Why  should  we  be  taking  it  from  the  business  of  the  West  rather  than 
the  business  of  the  East  ? 

Mr.  TAYLOR,  of  Cincinnati  :  I  propose  the  following  amend 
ment  to  the  first  resolution :  Strike  out  all  after  the  word  "  thereof," 
and  insert  u  but  the  policy  of  contraction  should  be  kept  steadily  in 
view,  and  be  resumed  at  the  earliest  moment  when  the  condition  of 
the  country  will  warrant  it." 

Let  me  say,  at  the  outset,  that  although  I  come  from  the  West  I 
am  thoroughly  in  accord  with  the  sentiment  of  the  East  on  the  finance 
question,  as  expressed  by  the  gentleman  from  Boston,  (Mr.  ROPES,) 
and  am  inflexibly  opposed  to  any  expansion  of  the  currency  in  any 
form,  and  I  would  slay  until  Christmas,  if  necessary,  to  vote  against 
expansion.  (Applause.)  I  congratulate  the  Committee  on  the  gen 
eral  result  of  their  labor.  They  have  evidently  carefully,  patiently 
and  wisely  considered  the  important  subjects  referred  to  them,  and, 
as  a  whole,  I  can  cordially  endorse  their  report ;  but  I  am  puzzled  to 
comprehend  why  they  have  fixed  upon  the  first  of  January,  1869,  as 
the  earliest  period  when  the  contraction  of  the  currency  could  be 
safely  resumed  and  when  it  must  be  resumed.  I  am  in  favor  of  con 
traction  now,  when  money  is  easy  at  the  great  commercial  and  finan 
cial  centres,  or  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  when  it  can  be  safely 
resumed,  and  am  for  continued  contraction  until  specie  payment  is 
brought  about.  I  think  the  Committee  has  erred  in  naming  any 
definite  and  arbitrary  day  for  the  resumption  of  contraction,  and  I 
would  ask  if  they  had  a  prophet  among  them  who  could  foresee  what 
would  be  the  corn,  wheat  and  cotton  crops  of  1868;  as  upon  these 
mainly  will  hinge  our  ability  to  pursue  contraction  of  the  currency  at 
the  time  specified.  We  may  be  less  able  to  contract  then  than  now. 
This  objectionable  clause  in  the  first  resolution  leads  me  to  suspect 
that  possibly  the  Committee  have  been  in  consultation  with  the  bril 
liant  financial  Senator  from  Vermont,  (Mr.  MORRILL,)  who  has  in 
troduced  a  bill  into  the  Senate  fixing  upon  a  day  for  the  resumption 
of  specie  payments  by  the  Government,  and  in  order  to  fortify  the 
Treasury  for  resumption  has  provided  by  a  clause  in  his  bill  for  the 
monthly  sale  of  the  gold  in  the  Treasury,  leaving  only  a  sufficient 
balance  to  meet  the  ordinary  current  expenses  of  the  Government ; 


CONGRESSIONAL    FUNDING    SCHEMES.  167 

or  perhaps  they  have  been  advising  with  the  distinguished  Secretary 
of  the  Treasury,  who,  in  a  well-known  speech,  made  about  two  years 
ago,  proclaimed  that  he  had  taken  out  a  sort  of  patent  to  bring  about 
specie  payments,  but  who  has  not  yet  achieved  the  promised  and 
desired  result.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  is  not  possible,  in  the  present 
condition  of  the  currency,  to  arbitrarily  fix  upon  any  specific  day  for 
the  resumption  of  contraction  or  for  specie  payments.  I  am  opposed 
to  expansion  because  I  look  upon  an  irredeemable  paper  currency  as 
one  of  the  greatest  curses  ever  inflicted  upon  a  country,  and  I  believe 
it  will  be  found  that  the  present  depressed  condition  of  our  shipping 
interest  is  owing  more  to  our  depreciated  currency  and  to  our 
barbarous  tariff  than  to  any  other  cause.  (Applause.)  I  do  not 
agree  with  those  who  think  the  price  of  gold,  or  rather  the  value  of 
our  bonds  abroad,  (because  these  mainly  govern  the  premium  on 
gold,)  is  influenced  in  any  large  degree  by  the  amount  of  currency  in 
circulation.  It  is  not  the  large  volume  of  currency  that  keeps  our 
bonds  so  much  below  par.  It  is  a  lack  of  confidence  on  the  part  of 
foreign  capitalists  that  keeps  them  down  to  about  seventy-two,  and 
this  lack  of  confidence  grows  out  of  our  profligate  expenditures,  our 
decreasing  revenue,  and  our  unsettled  condition ;  and  we  cannot 
reasonably  expect  to  see  our  bonds  appreciate  in  value  until  we 
practice  economy  and  have  a  redundant  revenue.  Until  recently  we 
.have  been  alarmingly  profligate  in  our  national  expenditures,  and  our 
revenue  has  fallen  off  so  greatly  that  doubts  have  been  expressed  as 
to  our  ability  to  pay  the  interest  on  the  debt  and  meet  the  necessary 
expenses  of  the  Government.  When  we  present  an  opposite  specta 
cle  to  foreign  capitalists  by  the  exhibition  of  strict  economy  in  our 
expenditures  and  by  the  steady  yearly  extinguishment,  of  our  debt  by 
a  surplus  revenue,  they  will  have  confidence  in  our  bonds  and  these 
will  quickly  appreciate  to  par  and  command  a  premium.  I  regard 
all  the  various  funding  schemes  introduced  into  Congress,  looking  to 
the  borrowing  of  money  at  four  to  five  per  cent.,  and  to  the  sale  of 
the  bonds  at  par,  while  our  six  per  cent,  bonds  are  selling  at  about 
severity-two,  as  simply  "jackassical,"  (if  I  may  use  the  word;)  there 
ought  not  to  be  any  talk  about  new  loans  and  new  bonds  until  by  the 
practice  of  the  most  rigid  economy  and  by  the  steady  reduction  of  our 
debt,  the  five-twenties  have  appreciated  to  par.  When  this  result  is 
achieved  and  not  until  then  should  we  talk  about  a  new  loan.  When 
it  is  achieved  we  can  readily  borrow  money  at  four  to  five  per  cent. 
interest,  and  pay  off  the  five-twenties,  and  thus  largely  reduce  the 
national  burden.  I  do  not  concur  with  those  who  think  taxation 
should  be  reduced  to  the  point  where  the  revenue  would  barely  meet 


1G8  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

the  necessary  expenses  of  the  Government  and  the  interest  on  the 
debt,  leaving  to  the  next  generation  its  payment.  On  the  contrary,  I 
think  it  would  be  wise  policy  to  continue  to  tax  ourselves  sharply, 
certainly  enough  to  yield  a  surplus  revenue,  to  be  applied  to  the  pay 
ment  of  the  debt.  I  differ  also  from  those  who  take  a  desponding 
view  of  the  situation,  and  represent  the  country  as  nearly  or  quite 
bankrupt,  and  as  groaning  under  oppressive  and  intolerable  taxation. 
The  condition  of  the  country  is  not  so  bad  as  this.  Taxes  have  in 
creased  and  are  not  altogether  properly  adjusted.  Some  branches  of 
business  are  greatly  depressed  by  this  and  other  causes,  and  all  have 
felt  in  some  measure  the  natural  and  inevitable  shrinkage  always 
following  the  withdrawal  of  paper  money,  which  always  creates  false 
values ;  but  the  general  condition  of  the  country  is  not  nearly  so  bad 
as  it  is  represented  to  be  by  those  small  politicians  and  stump  orators, 
who  rarely  pay  any  taxes  themselves,  but  who  go  about  the  country 
and  to  serve  their  own  base  and  interested  ends,  fill  it  with  their 
dismal  howlings.  I  should  like  to  see  more  economy,  a  more  general 
determination  to  pay  the  debt,  and  less  grumbling  and  howling  about 
taxes.  The  resources  of  the  country  are  enormous  and  are  increas 
ing  ;  and  we  have  but  to  use  these  judiciously  and  to  insist  upon 
economy  in  our  legislators,  and  we  shall  soon  triumphantly  emerge 
from  our  present  financial  difficulties.  I  hope  the  resolution  reported 
by  the  Committee  recommending  Congress  to  legalize  contracts  in 
coin  will  be  adopted  by  the  Convention  and  by  Congress ;  as  I  believe 
this  would  materially  aid  in  hastening  the  return  to  specie  payments, 
and  is  certainly  a  move  in  the  right  direction ;  I  hope  also  that  the 
Convention,  however  its  members  may  differ  in  opinion  on  minor 
matters,  will  be  an  unit  in  maintaining  the  national  faith  and  honor. 
(Applause.) 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  I  feel  that  I  am  called  upon  to  reply  to  the 
remarks  of  the  gentleman  who  last  spoke,  because  it  seems  to  me  his 
expressions  were  rather  harsh.  I  think  he  said  that  we  had  suffered 
long  enough  from  a  u  barbarous  tariff."  I  think  I  can  prove  to  him, 
conclusively,  that  unless  we  have  a  proper  tariff,  we  never  can  resume 
specie  payments,  (Applause) ;  but  that  is  not  the  subject  under  dis 
cussion.  I  also  take  exception  to  his  remark,  that  because  we  cannot 
tell  what  sort  of  a  crop  we  are  to  have  next  year,  therefore  we  should 
make  no  calculation  upon  a  crop  at  all.  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
shrewdest  merchant  is  the  one  who  is  able  to  see  an  inch  further  into 
the  future  than  his  neighbor.  The  merchant  who  cannot  see  beyond 
his  own  store  door,  I  will  guarantee,  in  this  good  City  of  Boston,  will 


CONTRACTION  TO  BE  GRADUAL.        169 

be  sure  to  end  in  bankruptcy.  We  must  make  calculations  on  the 
iture.  It  we  want  to  know  what  our  crop,  will  be  for  the  next  five 
years,  it  is  reasonable  to  take  the  average  of  the  crops  of  the  past  live 
years.  We  must  act  upon  experience,  and  without  it  we  shall  be 
very  much  at  a  loss. 

Now,  what  will  be  the  effect  of  the  amendment  proposed  by  the 
gentleman  from  Chicago?  Virtually,  nothing.  This  Convention, 
called  together  wUh  so  much  trouble  and  difficulty,  to  give  expression 
to  our  views  and  feelings  in  such  a  way  that  they  shall  be  known  and 
felt  throughout  the  country,  will  simply  say,  "  Gentlemen  at  Wash 
ington,  you  have  done  perfectly  right,  you  have  already  met  the 
emergency  and  stopped  contraction  ;  you  have  finished  your  work, 
and  you  may  as  well  go  home,  so  far  as  the  currency  question  is  con 
cerned."  Now,  when  I  look  around  me  and  see  the  amount  of  intelli 
gence  assembled  here  from  every  quarter  of  the  country,  representing 
the  vast  industrial  interests  of  the  country,  I  am  sure  we  ought  to  do 
more  than  this.  I  am  sure  that  the  people  of  my  State  would  not 
be  satisfied  to  have  the  Philadelphia  delegates  say  that  nothing  more 
could  be  done  here  than  simply  to  endorse  Congress.  We  are  here, 
practical  business  men,  as  I  understand  it,  to  tell  Congress  what,  in 
our  opinion,  will  be  for  the  best  interests  of  this  country — what  we 
believe  to  be  right  and  proper ;  and  let  us  fairly,  dispassionately  and 
coolly,  with  business-like  judgment,  discuss  these  questions. 

Now,  in  regard  to  expansion  and  contraction.  It  does  seem  to  me, 
when  we  look  at  this  question  in  its  length  and  breadth,  that  we  are 
led  to  this  conclusion,  that  just  as  early  as  possible,  just  as  soon  as  we 
can,  we  should  resume  specie  payments.  (Applause.)  And  let  me 
tell  gentlemen  here,  from  my  own  experience,  that  this  resumption  of 
specie  payments  is  not  the  great  bugbear  that  many  of  us  think  it  is. 
All  we  want  is  confidence  to  enable  us  to  resume  specie  payments.  I 
can  tell  gentlemen,  that  in  1857,  when  we  resumed,  I  knew  of  a  bank 
in  Philadelphia  that,  fearful,  perhaps,  of  a  terrible  run  upon  it,  secured 
in  its  vaults  seven-eighths  of  its  circulation  in  gold  and  silver.  What 
was  the  consequence  ?  They  paid  out  on  the  first  day  forty  dollars, 
and  took  in  two  thousand.  The  truth  is,  no  man  wants  to  carry  a 
gold  dollar  in  his  pocket  if  he  can  carry  a  bank  note  that  represents 
the  gold  dollar. 

What,  then,  does  Mr.  McCuLLOCii  want  us  to  do?  lie  wants  us 
to  withdraw  fifty  millions  of  legal  tenders  a  year.  For  what  purpose  ? 
lie  honestly  and  fairly  believes,  that  if  that  can  be  done  without  det 
riment  to  the  business  interests  of  the  country,  in  three  years  we  can 
resume  specie  payments.  And  how  ?  In  three  years,  he  will  with- 

22 


170  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

draw  one  hundred  and  fifty  millions  of  the  three  hundred  millions  of 
legal  tenders,  and  the  balance  will  be  held  by  the  banks,  and  when 
we  resume,  they  will  hold  these  as  a  reserve,  as  gold,  because  they 
will  be  the  same  as  gold. 

Kvery  business  man  knows  that  he  must  make  his  return  to  the 
Government;  and  on  that  return,  Mr.  McCoLLOCH  levies  his  tax. 
He  could  not  support  the  Government  an  hour  without  the  agricul 
tural  and  manufacturing  interests  of  this  land.  Knowing  this,  will  he 
crush  the  men  who  support  him?  I  doubt  it.  When,  two  years  ago, 
he  was  troubled,  and  the  business  community  trembled,  what  did  he 
do  ?  He  did  what  Congress  asked  him  to  do  then  ;  and  for  three 
months  past  there  has  been  no  contraction.  And  what  is  the  conse 
quence?  Why,  I  know  a  man  in  Philadelphia  who  refused  to  accept 
a  loan  of  two  hundred  thousand  dollars,  at  four  per  cent. —  he  could 
not  use  it.  Do  you  say,  in  the  face  of  such  a  fact,  that  there  is  not 
plenty  of  currency  now  ?  And  if,  with  this  abundance  of  currency, 
the  business  of  the  country  is  still  depressed,  I  ask  this  Convention  to 
inquire  if  there  is  not  another  reason  for  the  trouble.  We  have  plenty 
of  currency  at  the  present  time  ;  I  think  there  is  no  man  on  this  floor 
who  will  not  say  so:  and  yet  our  business  communities  are  in  a  de 
pressed  condition.  We  must  get  at  the  secret  of  it,  and  perhaps  the 
secret  is  no.t  the  contraction  of  the  currency. 

Mr.  BUZBY  :  I  rise  simply  to  say  that  I  do  not  consider  the 
remarks  of  the  preceding  speaker  a  correct  representation  of  the  sen 
timent  of  the  business  community  of  Philadelphia. 

Mr.  FlELD  :  The  first  resolution  of  the  report  under  considera 
tion  contains  a  proposition  that  the  legal  tender  currency  be  contracted 
after  the  first  of  January,  18GO,  at  the  rate  of  $3,000,000  per  month. 
Mr.  TURPIN,  of  Chicago,  has  moved  that  this  proposition  be  stricken 
out,  and  in  rising  to  support  the  motion  I  will  briefly  present  my 
views  on  this  important  subject. 

It  is  assumed  that  contraction  of  the  greenbacks  will  secure  re 
sumption.  And  the  discussions  thus  far  do  not  appear  to  be  pertinent 
to  the  question  before  the  Convention.  Gentlemen  have  expressed 
their  views  in  favor  of  gold  and  silver  as  the  true  standard  of  value. 
They  deplore  the  existing  state  of  affairs,  and  express  with  great 
earnestness  a  desire  for  speedy  resumption.  I  beg  to  remind  gentle 
men  that  that  is  not  the  question  before  the  Convention.  There  can 
be  no  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  importance  and  advantage  of 
resumption. 

The  question  is,  can  we  have  specie  payments  by  coercion  and  by 
an  act  of  Congress  fixing  the  day  of  resumption  ?  And  will  contrac- 


STATISTICS    OF    CIRCULATION.  171 

tion  or  destruction  of  the  greenbacks  force  upon  us  the  gold  and 
silver  to  supply  the  demands  of  our  foreign  creditors,  and  the  require 
ments  of  our  people  for  currency  ? 

I  fail  to  see  on  what  law  of  political  economy  the  Committee  rely 
to  support  this  singular  proposition,  and  it  appears  to  me  that  the 
Pope's  bull  may  be  equally  effective  in  the  regulation  and  movement 
of  the  comets.  The  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  has  been  travelling 
on  the  road  called  contraction  at  a  rapid  pace  for  over  t\ro  years. 
And  with  what  results  ?  And  what  does  the  experience  in  contrac 
tion  teach  ? 

A  careful  examination  must  convince  any  intelligent  man  that 
instead  of  leading  us  one  step  nearer  resumption  it  in  reality  conducts 
us  further  from  it  and  postpones  that  prosperity,  or  that  industrial 
and  financial  condition  favorable  to  resumption.  Let  us  for  one 
moment  inquire  what  contraction  has  accomplished  for  the  finances 
of  the  nation,  and  its  effect  during  the  past  two  years  on  the  industry 
and  business  of  the  country. 

CIRCULATION    COMPARED. 

On  the  first  of  September,  1865,  the  circulating  medium  consisted 
in  part  as  follows  :  — 

United  States  notes,      ........  $433,160,569 

Fractional  currencv,      ....... 

National  bank  notes,      .....  300,000,000 

Compound  interest  legal  tender,    . 

Temporary  loan  certificates,  ten  per  cent., 

Certificates  of  indebtedness,  ........ 

Treasury  five  per  cent,  legal  tenders,     ..... 

Treasury  notes,  legal  tenders,  past  due  and  not  presented, 
State  bank  notes,  ........ 

Total,    .......  •    JH  .281,678,680 

On  the  first  of  November,  18G7,  the  amount  of  currency  in  circula 
tion,  of  the  description  above  mentioned,  was  as  follows  :  — 

United  States  notes  and  fractional  currency,    . 

...  .         300,000,000 

National  bank  notes,  ,  -air-i-o 

Compound  interest  notes  and  three  per  cent,  certificates, 

4.OUU.UUU 
State  bank  notes,    ...... 


, 

Treasury  notes,  2,474,625 

Temporary  loan,  ten  per  cent.,         .        . 

Certificates  of  indebtedness,    ....... 

Total,  ~:::>,<«,8«« 


172  COMMERCIAL   CONVENTION. 

Total  contraction  in  two  years  and  four  months,  $507,724,817, 
being  a  reduction  of  forty  per  cent. 

Has  this  unparalleled  contraction  either  reduced  the  price  of  gold 
or  enhanced  the  value  of  national  securities  yet  outstandin.tr?  And 
has  it  promoted  the  prosperity  of  the  country  ?  You  know,  Mr.  Presi 
dent,  it  has  not;  on  the  contrary,  its  effect,  together  with  excessive 
internal  revenue  taxation,  has  been  to  paralyse  trade,  suspend  our 
industries  and  throw  labor  out  of  employment.  We  find  that  not 
withstanding  this  unparalleled  contraction  —  exceeding  more  than 
double  in  this  brief  period  the  total  reduction  of  the  issues  of  the 
banks  of  England  from  1814  to  1823,  a  period  of  eight  years,  —  that 
the  price  of  gold  to-day  is  higher  than  it  was  when  this  suicidal 
scheme  was  inaugurated.  This  is  an  instructive  lesson  on  the  policy 
of  contraction,  and  it  is  unnecessary  to  go  further  to  show  that  it  is 
not  the  remedy  for  existing  evils. 

It  is  quite  remarkable  that  neither  Mr.  McCuLLOcn  nor  any  other 
of  the  numerous  doctors  on  finance  have  attempted  to  explain  in  what 
miraculous  way  contraction  is  to  produce  gold  and  silver  to  supply  all 
our  wants. 

We  know  there  is  no  demand  for  gold  among  ourselves  save  for 
imports,  neither  is  it  hoarded  here.  It  is  demanded  from  abroad  and 
this  demand  is  in  excess  of  our  supply,  and,  as  with  every  other  com 
modity,  scarcity  enhances  the  price.  It  is  not  as  has  been  asserted 
here  a  want  of  confidence  in  the  minds  of  our  people  in  the  ability  of 
our  Government  to  pay  all  her  obligations  in  good  faith,  for  1  chal 
lenge  any  man  to  iind  an  American  who  has  hoarded  the  precious 
metals  or  who  has  had  any  doubt  or  apprehension  as  to  the  integrity 
and  stability  of  this  great  nation. 

The  price  of  gold  in  the  market  is  controlled  by  foreign  exchange, 
and  the  price  of  foreign  exchange  is  controlled  by  the  balance  of 
trade.  The  statistics  show  that  our  foreign  trade  is  in  an  abnormal 
condition,  and  it  will  continue  unhealthy  so  long  as  we  continue  to 
import  goods  of  foreign  manufacture  exceeding  the  amount  of  our 
exports,  and  so  long  as  we  continue  to  be  the  debtor  nation.  Water 
does  not  more  naturally  seek  a  level  than  does  gold  flow  from  one 
nation  to  another  for  payment  of  balances  created  by  an  unequal  ex 
change  of  commodities,  and  nothing  can  be  more  certain  than  the  fact 
that  there  can  be  no  permanent  resumption  of  specie  payments  in  the 
United  States  until  the  balances  between  them  and  foreign  countries 
shall  be  made  easy,  and  until  provision  shall  be  made  for  returning 
bonds  at  unpropitious  times. 

The  importations  from  foreign  countries  (including  the  usual  esti 
mate  for  undervaluations  and  smuggling)  have  in  the  last  eight  years 


PRODUCTION    MUST    BE    INCREASED.  173 

exceeded  the  amounts  of  our  exports  in  gold  valuation,  including 
$5 17,000,000  in  specie,  leaving  the  balance  against  the  United  States 
$931,429,186. 

The  balance  against  this  country,  in  the  fiscal  year  18GG,  was  in 
gold  value  $143,520,000,  and  for  the  fiscal  year  1867,  $136,000,000. 
In  addition  to  this  large  trade  indebtedness,  it  must  be  borne  in  mind 
that  at  least  $1,000,000,000  of  our  National,  State,  Municipal  and 
Railway  securities  are  held  abroad,  and  for  which  provision  and 
calculation  must  be  made. 

This,  briefly,  is  our  -condition  in  trade  and  indebtedness  with 
foreign  countries,  and  it  does  not  present  a  very  bright  picture.  Our 
domestic  affairs  are  not  as  yet  settled  and  in  a  satisfactory  shape. 
The  withdrawal  of  at  least  two  millions  of  men,  North  and  South, 
from  productive  employments  —  taken  very  largely  from  the  farm 
and  plantation  —  together  with  the  destruction  of  $5,000,000,000  of 
property  during  four  years  of  rebellion,  has  had  a  disturbing  and 
demoralizing  effect  on  the  industry  and  productive  forces  of  the 
country.  Short  crops  have  also  increased  the  embarrassments  under 
which  the  people  suffer,  raising  the  price  of  breadstuffs  not  only 
beyond  the  reach  of  many  of  our  fellow-citizens,  but  leaving  no  large 
surplus  for  exportation. 

Considering  our  condition  at  home  and  our  indebtedness  abroad, 
Mr.  President,  it  seems  to  me  that  any  recommendation  to  Congress 
to  fix  the  day  of  resumption  would  be  unwise  in  this  Convention. 

I  believe  the  true  remedy  for  existing  evils  and  the  only  agency 
we  can  with  certainty  rely  upon  to  bridge  over  the  vacuum  in  our 
production  and  wealth  occasioned  by  the  war,  is  the  labor  of  our 
hands  and  increased  production.  When  our  labor  shall  again  fully 
resume  the  old  places  —  when  the  pleasant  sounds  of  industry  shall 
make  glad  every  village  and  glen  —  and  when  the  field,  the  mine  and 
the  factory  shall  fill  our  empty  ships,  it  will  restore  harmony  to 
foreign  and  domestic  trade,  and  give  health  and  stability  to  the 
national  finances.  With  peace  and  prosperity  in  our  country  and  by 
the  aid  of  two  crops  of  cotton,  we  shall  within  two  or  three  years  so 
far  settle  the  balance  due  to  Europe  that  gold  will  flow  back  to  us  as 
it  did  before  the  war,  and  then  as  all  demand  will  cease  and  the 
supply  be  large,  specie  payments  will  come  as  the  dew  falls,  doing 
good  to  all  but  injury  to  none. 

It  is  logical  to  say  that  if  our  labor  could  be  in  full  exercise  and 
furnish  a  "surplus  of  commodities  other  than  gold  for  exportation  in 
amount  exceeding  our  imports,  and  our  debts  paid,  the  balance  of 
trade  would  bring  back  gold.  It  has  done  this  heretofore.  Then 


174  COMMERCIAL  CONVENTION. 

with  the  increasing  supply  from  California  a  demand  for  gold  will 
cease,  and  it  will  fall  below  national  or  bank  credit,  because  our  pood 
Government  and  good  laws  make  good  credit  in  a  normal  condition 
of  things  better  than  gold. 

Labor  increased  our  national  wealth  in  the  last  decade  from 
$7,135,780,228  to  SI 6,1 59,6 16,068.  The  same  ratio  of  increase 
will,  within  a  short  time,  not  only  overcome  the  waste  of  the  late 
war,  but  the  balance  in  foreign  trade  now  unhappily  setting  so  heavily 
against  us.  Wise  legislation  that  shall  protect  well  our  industrial  and 
commercial  interests  and  give  stability  to  all  governmental  affairs, 
will  greatly  increase  the  power  of  labor  in  our  midst,  and  which  when 
relieved  of  excessive  taxation  will  soon  make  us  the  most  prosperous 
and  independent  nation  on  the  earth. 

The  highest  estimate  of  the  amount  of  coin  in  the  United  States 
is  $200,000,000,  including  $100,000,000  in  the  National  Treasury, 
and  the  production  of  California  does  not  exceed  $50,000,000  per 
annum.  Now,  sir,  the  amount  exported  to  Europe,  in  1866,  was 
$86,044,071  ;  in  1867,  $60,975,186.  The  shipments  in  the  month  of 
January  last,  were  $8,000,000. 

These  facts  indicate  not  only  the  course  of  trade,  but  from  what 
quarter  the  demand  comes  for  our  precious  metals,  exceeding  annually 
in  amount  the  supply  from  our  rich  mines. 

If  the  exhaustive  process  is  not  checked  by  the  wholesome  re 
straints  of  law,  it  will  be  an  easy  matter  for  the  advocates  of  resump 
tion  by  coercive  measures  to  calculate  how  long  before  the  first  of 
January,  1869,  we  shall  be  in  a  financial  condition  to  transact  business 
on  a  " specie  basis" 

In  the  fiscal  year  1867,  we  imported  the  following  goods  which 
should  have  been  produced  in  our  own  country,  from  our  own  ma 
terials  and  by  our  own  hands  : 

Wool  and  woollen  manufactures,    .......  $51,341,754 

Wood  und  manufactures, 7,004,857 

Lead                                           2,841,391 

Iron  and  steel                            25,360,861 

Hemp                                         3,045,126 

Glass                                            3,958,063 

Flax                                             , 19,534,425 

Cotton  •     .         .        .  (       23,737,528 

Clothing                                      '  m  7,985,434 

Hooks  and  pamphlets, ".  1,314,650 

Other  manufactures, 5,573,053 


'Total,       .         .         .         .         .         .         .         p>  .         .      $151,697,142 


MR.    STEVEXS'S    AMENDMENT.  175 

For  such  manufactures,  Europe  is  now  gleaning  from  this  country 
all  the  gold  we  produce,  and  taking  a  mortgage  on  us  in  the  shape  of 
bonds  for  all  that  we  have  not  the  ability  to  pay.  It  is  in  this  way 
that  we  invigorate  the  labor  of  Europe  instead  of  fostering  our  own 
industry  by  protective  measures. 

For  the  reasons  stated,  Mr.  President,  I  am  opposed  to  the  reso 
lution  of  the  Committee  and  in  favor  of  the  amendment  offered  by 
Mr.  TURPIN,  of  Chicago.  We  must  wait  for  labor  to  harmonize 
affairs  and  adjust  values  to  a  condition  of  national  health  and  pros 
perity. 

What  we  require  now,  in  my  judgment,  to  promote  that  industrial 
and  financial  condition  which  we  must  reach  in  order  to  secure  as 
speedily  as  possible  a  resumption  of  specie  payments  in  a  healthy  and 
permanent  shape,  is  the  relief  of  our  industry  from  the  burdens  of 
excessive  internal  revenue  taxation,  and  also  such  an  adjustment  of 
the  duties  on  importations  of  foreign  manufactures  as  to  keep  the 
balance  of  trade  with  other  nations  in  favor  of  the  United  States. 

I  should  be  willing  to  urge  on  Congress  the  importance  of  imme 
diate  legislation  on  these  questions,  with  the  view  to  restrain  the 
importation  of  manufactures,  which  we  have  the  ability  to  produce  at 
home,  and  which  compete  with  our  labor  and  disturb  our  finance.  I 
take  the  ground  that  our  good  currency  cannot  delay  or  postpone 
resumption,  on  the  contrary  its  destruction,  in  my  judgment,  would 
impede  our  approach  to  resumption,  for  the  high  rate  of  interest 
which  money  commands  all  over  the  country,  particularly  at  the 
West,  is  the  most  satisfactory  proof  that  the  circulating-medium  is 
.  not  excessive. 

If  the  public  debt  be  funded  by  the  issue  of  bonds  on  long  time 
and  bearing  interest,  and  if  greenbacks  are  made  convertible  to  the 
bonds  of  the  Government  at  par,  and  at  any  national  bank,  our  cur 
rency,  with,  such  facilities  to  absorb  unemployed  capital,  cannot 
become  redundant. 

Mr.  STEVENS,  of  New  York,  submitted  the  following 
as  an  amendment  to  the  first  resolution  reported  by 
the  Committee  : 

Strike  out  all  after  the  word  "  Resolved,"  and  insert  as  follows:— 
That  this  Convention,  utterly  rejecting  the  false  modern  theories 
that  there  is  any  other  true  measure  of  value  than  those  precious 
metals  which  the  usage  of  nations  from  earliest  ages  has  declared  to 
be  money  ^namely,  gold  and  silver)  ;  and  believing  trade  and  com 
merce  must  languish  so  long  as  this  measure  of  value  which  is  its  life- 


170  COMMEKCIAL    CONVENTION. 

blood,  is  vitiated  or  corrupt;  firmly  hold   that  the  first  and   greatest 
need  of  the  country  is  to  restore  specie  to  the  currency. 

Resolved,  That  in  the  judgment  of  this  Convention  there  is  no  other 
way  of  restoring  specie  to  the  currency  than  by  a  contraction  of  the 
paper  issues,  and  the  making  of  a  place  in  circulation  for  the  entry  of 
gold  and  silver — a  process  which  should  be  carefully  graduated  over 
a  long  period  of  time  so  as  not  unjustly  to  distress  any  branch  of 
industry  or  commerce,  while  specie  payment  should  only  be  required 
by  law  when  the  power  of  the  country  to  maintain  such  payment 
shall  have  been  clearly  shown  by  a  continued  practical  resumption. 

Mr.  STEVENS  :  As  one  of  the  Finance  Committee  who  have 
submitted  the  report  to  the  Convention,  I  feel  it  my  duty  to  say  that 
the  whole  of  the  report  is  by  no  means  satisfactory  to  me,  and  that 
the  statements  of  the  clause  now  under  discussion  are  most  objection 
able.  I  believe  neither  in  any  one  of  the  premises  of  that  resolution 
nor  in  the  conclusions  depending  thereon. 

It  is  said  in  the  resolution  that  the  values  of  the  country  have  been 
adjusted  to  the  present  amount  of  currency.  I  do  not  believe  that 
the  values  are  harmoniously  or  fairly  adjusted  to  the  satisfaction  of 
any  general  branch  of  industry,  whether  commercial,  agricultural  or 
manufacturing.  An  examination  of  the  list  of  prices  would  show 
very  great  irregularities  in  values. 

Was  the  commercial  community  of  Boston  satisfied,  when  its  last 
steamship  was  withdrawn,  or  the  merchant  of  New  York,  when  but  a 
few  days  since,  he  looked  over  the  Shipping  List  of  New  York  and 
found  there  no  ship  loading  for  an  European  port  under  the  American 
flag?  Did  Mr.  Senator  SPRAGUE  express  any  very  great  contentment 
on  the  part  of  the  man ufactu ring  class  in  his  late  speech  ?  Are  the 
agricultural  interest  satisfied  when  the  prices  of  wool  are  so  fallen 
that  we  hear  that  in  the  Western  country  the  poor  sheep  are  not 
cared  for  for  their  fleece,  but  are  slaughtered  daily  for  their  skins  ? 

If  this  shows  a  "practical  adjustment"  of  values,  it  is  of  a  kind 
which  seems  to  satisfy  none  of  the  great  interests  of  the  country. 
And  yet  it  is  because  of  this  so  claimed  adjustment,  that  the  Com 
mittee  asks  the  Convention  to  give  out  to  the  world  that  it  desires 
"  neither  expansion  nor  contraction  "  at  the  present  time,  but  proposes 
a  rest  until  the  first  of  January,  1809. 

It  this  be  proposed  for  political  reasons,  well  and  good.  Say  noth 
ing  on  the  subject,  but  do  not  base  the  conclusion  on  false  premises. 
It  there  were  ever  a  time  when  contraction  should  be  going  on,  it  is 
now  when  money  is  worth  but  three  per  cent,  in  the  New  York 


A    STEP    TOWARDS    SPECIE    PAYMENTS.  177 

market.  I  believe  that  the  time  to  contract  is  when  money  is  cheap 
and  to  stop  contraction  when  it  is  dear.  I  do  not  believe  it  is  gen 
erally  known  that  Mr.  McCuLLOCii  has  reduced  the  currency  from 
one  thousand  millions,  as  it  stood  on  the  thirty-first  of  August,  18G5, 
including  all  those  parts  of  the  debt  which  performed  the  functions  of 
money,  to  seven  hundred  millions,  by  the  first  of  November,  I. SG7. 
The  Secretary  was  imprudent  in  contracting  during  the  fall,  when 
the  West  needed  all  the  currency  it  could  obtain  to  move  the  crops. 
If  he  had  governed  himself  by  the  state  of  the  money  market  instead 
of  an  arbitrary  policy,  he  would  not,  have  been  stripped  of  his  powers. 
As  it  is,  "he  has  killed  the  goose  which  laid  his  golden  eggs."  But 
there  is  still  another  fault  in  Mr.  McCuLLOCii.  lie  alarmed  the 
country  by  the  announcement  that  he  intended  to  resume  specie  pay 
ment  by  the  first  of  July,  1868.  Now,  every  one  in  the  country, 
whether  financier  or  not,  feels  instinctively  that  specie  payment  means 
ante  war  prices,  and  dreads  a  reduction  in  value  which  will  fall  wholly 
on  his  shoulders.  On  the  other  hand,  the  naming  of  a  distant  day, 
would  be  a  fair  notice  to  every  one  to  prepare  for  such  a  reduction. 

Again,  the  resolution  of  the  Committee  recommends  the  arbitrary 
reduction  of  three  millions  per  month,  after  the  first  of  January,  1801). 
The  gentlemen  might  find  that  it  would  be  a  more  severe  strain  to 
contract  the  currency  at  that  rate  next  year  than  it  had  been  at  any 
period  yet.  As  the  currency  of  the  country  approaches  its  natural 
limit,  contraction  will  be  severely  felt. 

I  am  of  opinion  that  the  withdrawal  of  one  hundred  millions  more. 
of  currency,  thereby  reducing  the  same  to  five  hundred  and  fifty 
millions,  would  be  followed  by  the  appearance  of  gold,  and  that  the 
currency  would  thereafter  be  strengthened  without  contraction,  gold 
flowing  into  it  as  fast  as  paper  should  be  withdrawn. 

Holding  these  views,  and  dissenting  from  every  part  of  the  resolu 
tion,  I  oiler  the  amendment  thereto,  which  I  have  read. 

Mr.  DAVIS,  of  Toledo  :  I  rise  simply  to  propose  a  resolution. 
The  general  feeling  seems  to  be,  that  we  are  to  strive  to  get  back  to 
specie  payments  as  soon  as  possible,  and  we  want  the  first  step  towards 
it.  I  therefore  introduce  this  resolution  as  the  first  leading  step :  — 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  recommend  to  Congress  to'provide 
bv  law  that  from  this  date  no  national  bank  shall  be  allowed  to  sell 
any  part  of  the  gold  received  from  Government  as  interest  upon  the 
bonds  pledged  for  its  circulation,  until  such  time  as  the  entire  amount 
of  the  reserve  required  by  law  to  be  kept  by  the  bank  shall  be  made 
up  of  coin. 


178  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

I  introduce  this  resolution  as  an  additional  one.  I  would  say  that 
such  a  law  would  be  entirely  against  my  interest,  individually ;  but 
there  must  be  some  point  at  which  to  begin,  and  the  banks  of  the 
West,  I  am  quite  sure,  will  be  satisfied  to  reserve  this  coin,  and  take 
their  legal  tenders  and  put  them  into  circulation  as  a  reserve. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER,  of  St.  Louis  :  I  have  a  resolution  which 
I  want  to  offer  as  an  addition  to  the  report : — 

Resolved,  That  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  should  be  directed 
by  Congress  to  receive  legal  tender  notes  in  lieu  of  gold  for  duties  to 
such  an  extent  as  his  experience  has  taught  him  can  safely  be  done, 
instead  of  selling  surplus  of  gold. 

Mr.  BuZBY  :  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  Previous  to  the  ad 
journment  last  evening,  I  called,  as  I  had  a  right  to  call,  for  a  division 
of  the  question  on  the  adoption  of  the  report,  and  that  it  be  taken  up 
by  sections,  seriatim.  We  are  now  considering  the  first  resolution, 
and  my  point  of  order  is,  that  by  the  rules  of  Congress,  under  which 
we  are  acting,  after  an  amendment  to  an  amendment  has  been  made, 
no  other  amendment  can  be  considered,  and  that  you  cannot  receive 
a  substitute  for  the  whole  when  you  are  considering  one  section  of 
the  report. 

The  PRESIDENT  :  The  Chair  frankly  admits  that  we  are  pro 
ceeding  somewhat  informally.  It  was  proposed  to  permit  the  widest 
discussion,  in  order  to  obtain  the  views  of  gentlemen  from  different 
sections  of  the  country;  also,  that  the  Chairman  of  the  Committee  on 
Currency  and  Finance  should  review  the  propositions,  and  that  they 
should  then  be  taken  up  and  voted  upon.  This  is  what  the  Chair 
understood  to  be  the  wish  of  the  Convention.  Now,  if  it  is  the 
pleasure  of  the  Convention  to  change  the  mode  of  considering  this 
question,  they  can  do  so. 

Mr.  WARD,  of  Boston  :  I  would  merely  suggest,  that  if  gen 
tlemen  who  have  resolutions  to  offer  would  offer  them  when  the  reso 
lutions  to  which  they  are  pertinent  are  under  consideration,  we  can 
go  on  in  the  manner  we  have  adopted.  If  my  friend  from  Missouri 
will  withdraw  his  resolution,  and  introduce  it  at  the  proper  time,  we 
can  go  on. 

Mr.  ALEXANDER :  I  believe  it  is  the  proper  time  right  here. 
We  are  talking  about  getting  back  to  specie  payments.  Now,  I  appre 
hend  one  great  reason  why  we  are  not  having  specie  payments  is 
because  the  Government  requires  for  one  particular  thing  a  kind  of 


PART  PAYMENT  OF  DUTIES  IX  LEGAL  TENDERS.        179 

currency  that  it  pays  out  only  for  another  particular  thing.  To 
illustrate.  We  will  suppose  that  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury, 
^during  a  certain  period  of  time,  collects,  say  thirty  millions  of  gold. 
He  has  three  millions  more  than  he  wants,  and  he  goes  into  the 
market  to  sell  it.  Suppose  he  should  say  he  will  take  ten  per  cent, 
of  legal  tenders  in  lieu  of  gold ;  that  if  you  have  a  hundred  dollars  to 
pay,  you  may  pay  ninety  dollars  in  gold,  and  ten  in  legal  tenders, 
and  so  on.  He  has  had  experience  enough,  in  the  calculation  of  the 
gold  revenue,  to  tell  about  how  much  gold  he  will  get.  He  wants  a 
certain  amount  each  year  to  pay  interest,  and,  as  I  understand,  he 
has  in  the  treasury  vaults,  at  this  time,  about  a  hundred  millions.  It 
occurs  to  me,  that  if  he  will  tell  the  people  that  for  this  thing  for 
which  he  requires  gold  he  is  ready  to  take  legal  tenders,  he  may  run 
the  machine  for  a  year  on  the  gold  he  has  now,  and  at  the  end  of  the 
year,  he  would  have  a  very  considerable  amount  of  legal  tenders,  paid 
for  duties,  and  I  think  the  premium  on  gold  would  be  considerably 
reduced  from  what  it  is  now.  That  is  my  idea.  Gold  is  now  only 
performing  one  duty, —  or  two,  you  may  say  ;  but  one  only  which  our 
Government  makes  it  perform, —  namely,  it  is  paying  duties.  Every 
day,  some  body  has  to  pay  duties  on  the  importation  of  foreign  goods. 
He  must  go  into  the  market  with  the  legal  tenders  and  buy  gold  for 
that  purpose.  That  makes  gold  a  commodity,  and  one  class  of  spec 
ulators  will  operate  for  the  purpose  of  raising  the  price,  just  as 
much  as  they  can,  and  another  class  to  depress  it ;  and  just  so  long  as 
it  is  in  that  shape,  just  so  long  will  gold  be  kept  as  an  article  to  spec 
ulate  in.  Now,  if  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  could  run  the 
machine  for  about  a  year,  on  his  capital, —  that  is,  pay  the  gold 
interest,  it  seems  to  me  that  these  people  who  are  speculating  in  gold 
would  find  their  load  too  heavy  to  carry,  and  that  the  premium  would 
be  reduced  very  materially. 

I  have  thought  this  matter  over  a  good  deal,  and  I  cannot  see 
where  lie  the  objections  to  it.  There  may  be  some  ;  but  I  do  not  see 
why  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  should  be  made  by  the  laws  to 
collect  gold  from  the  people  to  sell  it  back  to  the  people,  to  pay  their 
duties  with.  1  think  the  people  can  do  it  better  in  another  way.  If 
he  would  simply  take  the  amount  absolutely  necessary,  I  think  it 
would  be  better. 

A  Delegate  from  Cincinnati  moved  that  the  propo 
sitions  be  taken  up  according  to  the  rules  of  Congress. 

Mr.  BRYSOX  :  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  As  we  have  decided 
to  be  governed  by  the  rules  of  Congress,  I  rise  to  state  what  I  know 
is  the  actual  course  of  proceedings  in  such  a  case  as  this  in  Congress. 


180  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

When  any  gentleman,  a  member  of  a  Committee,  reports  for  that 
Committee  to  the  House,  that  gentleman  is  fully  empowered  to  state 
to  the  House  that  he  will  permit  all  the  amendments  to  his  entire 
report  to  be  laid  before  Congress,  to  be  considered  at  once,  and  when 
he  calls  the  previous  question,  he  will  select  from  those  amendments 
the  propositions  which  he  will  accept,  (I  have  seen  fifteen  or  twenty 
before  the  House  at  once)  ;  and  after  that,  all  other  amendments  have 
to  be  brought  in  by  special  vote. 

Ml'.  HERRICK,  of  New  York  :  Experience  has  proven  that 
the  commercial  centres  are  almost  synonymous  with  the  money 
centres.  It  seems  that  the  advocates  of  expansion  — 

Mr.  FlJALEY  :  I  rise  to  a  point  of  order.  This  proposition  is 
now  before  the  Convention,  under  an  order  which  was  unanimously 
agreed  to,  according  to  the  practice  of  the  House  of  Representatives 
of  the  United  States.  That  order  cannot  be  departed  from  unless 
you  postpone  the  consideration  of  this  subject,  for  the  purpose  of 
taking  up  the  motion  made  by  my  friend  from  Cincinnati.  I  wish 
gentlemen  to  submit  their  amendments;  I  wish  to  have  an  opportu 
nity  of  hearing  them,  and  I  wish  to  make  a  speech  upon  this  whole 
question ;  but  if  the  order  that  is  proposed  by  my  friend  from 
Cincinnati  be  observed,  it  might  become  my  duty  to  trespass  upon 
the  Convention  six  times  instead  of  once.  I  hope  the  gentlemen  who 
have  already  had  an  opportunity  of  presenting  their  amendments  will 
consent  that  other  gentlemen  may  submit  their  amendments  also,  and 
state  the  reasons  upon  which  they  urge  their  adoption;  and  I  assure 
gentlemen,  that  being  disposed  to  allow  the  utmost  freedom  of  debate, 
I  shall  not  suddenly  spring  any  question  upon  them  until  the  Con 
vention  is  disposed  to  receive  it.  We  might,  by  not  hearing  all  that 
members  desire  to  say  upon  these  questions,  find  ourselves  embar 
rassed  at  the  close  of  the  discussion,  by  conflicting  amendments  that 
might  be  adopted  by  the  course  now  proposed,  and  be  obliged  to  go 
over  our  whole  work  again,  when  we  can  simplify  it  by  taking  up 
each  resolution,  to  be  offered,  and  by  having  them  all  before  us,  and 
knowing  what  they  are. 

Mr.  CASS,  of  Pittsburgh  :  As  I  understand  the  views  of  the 
Chairman,  I  have  embodied  them  in  writing. 

Resolved*  That  the  Convention  will  now  receive  and  debate  all 
propositions  to  amend  the  report  of  the  Committee  on  Finance  ;  and 
after  all  such  propositions  are  presented,  the  Chairman  of  the  Com 
mittee  shall  close  the  debate,  whereupon  the  Convention  shall  proceed 
to  consider  the  several  resolutions  of  the  Committee,  and  amendments 
,  without  further  debate. 


POIXTS    OF    ORDER.  181 

A  Delegate  inquired  if  a  vote  upon  the  propositions 
of  the  Committee  cut  off  all  amendments  and  sub 
stitutes. 

The  PRESIDENT  :  There  is  to  be  no  debate  after  the  Chairman 
of  the  Committee  closes,  and  the  propositions  have  been  presented 
and  debated.  There  has  not  been  a  speech  here  to-day  which  has 
not  touched  every  resolution  presented  by  the  Committee. 

Mr.  BUCKLEY,  of  Detroit :  If  I  understand  the  position  of 
the  Convention,  I  think  we  .are  entirely  out  of  order.  In  the  first 
place,  the  Convention  voted  to  adopt  the  rules  of  the  House  of  Rep 
resentatives.  A  resolution  was  adopted  yesterday,  that  the  resolu 
tions  should  be  taken  up  separately.  The  resolution  before  the 
Convention,  if  I  understand  it,  is  the  first  resolution  in  the  report ; 
but  the  different  amendments  which  have  been  presented  to  the 
Convention  this  morning,  by  the  several  gentlemen  representing  the 
different  portions  of  the  country,  have  had  reference,  not  only  to  the 
first  resolution,  but  to  every  resolution  contained  in  this  report.  My 
own  views  are  (I  may  be  wrong,)  that  the  first  duty  of  this  Convention 
is  to  entertain  the  first  resolution.  If  there  is  an  amendment  offered 
to  that  resolution,  it  should  be  entertained  by  the  Convention  ;  if  an 
amendment  to  that  amendment  is  proposed,  that  also  should  be  ad 
mitted  ;  and  there  amendments  should  stop,  until  the  amendment  to 
the  amendment  is  disposed  of.  It  seems  to  me  that  is  the  only  way 
we  can  ever  get  through  the  report. 

The  PRESIDENT  :  I  will  state  briefly  that  when  the  gentleman 
from  Philadelphia  made  the  suggestion,  I  proposed  to  put  it  to  the 
Convention  as  a  motion,  in  order  to  ascertain  their  sense  upon  it  ; 
but  by  unanimous  consent,  it  seemed  to  be  adopted  and  acquiesced  in. 
Perhaps  in  that  particular  I  failed  to  get  an  authorized  expression  of 
the  sense  of  the  Convention.  It  was  assumed  by  the  Chair  that  the 
proposition  was  acquiesced  in,  and  a  wide  range  has  been  allowed. 
Now,  the  question  is  upon  the  resolution  offered  by  the  gentleman 
from  Pittsburgh. 

Mr.  CASS  said  he  would  add  to  the  resolution,  "and 
that  the  vote  be  taken  at  one  o'clock."  (Calls  of 
«  Question.") 

A  Delegate  from  Cincinnati  stated  that  many  of  the 
delegates  would  have  to  leave  at  twelve  o'clock ;  and 
if  the  resolution  passed,  they  would  be  precluded  from 
voting  upon  the  report. 


182  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

A  Delegate  from  Chicago  :  I  move  that  the  words, "  and 
that  the  vote  he  taken  at  one  o'clock,"  be  stricken  out.  We  did  not 
come  here  to  go  home,  at  all  events,  on  Saturday  night.  The  gentle 
man  from  Cincinnati  said  he  had  made  arrangements  to  stay  here 
until  Christmas,  if  necessary ;  and  I  suppose  a  majority  of  the 
Chicago  delegates  are  ready  to  stay  as  long  as  he  will,  in  order  to 
come  to  some  sensible  conclusion  on  this  most  important  matter. 

The  clause  fixing  the  time  for  taking  the  vote  was 
stricken  out,  and  the  resolution  was  then  adopted. 

Mr.  HEKKICK  :  Experience,  as  1  before  remarked,  has  proven 
that  the  commercial  centres  are  almost  synonymous  with  the  money 
centres.  It  seems  generally  understood  that  the  advocates  of  the 
legal  tender  currency  are  found  in  the  West.  While  we  acknowledge 
the  genius  and  enterprise  and  activity  of  the  West,  and  while  we 
expect  to  reach  a  specie  basis  only  by  taking  the  wealth  from  the 
fertile  fields  of  the  West,  yet  sir,  we  think  that  possibly  we  at  the 
East  may  understand  this  question  a  little.  It  seems  to  me  that  the 
gentlemen  at  the  West  misunderstand  this  matter,  and  labor  under  the 
impression  that  legal  tender  money  or  paper  money  will  stand  in  the 
place  of  accumulated  wealth.  The  commercial  centres  of  the  sea 
board  have,  from  their  longer  existence,  piled  up  this  wealth ;  and 
until  our  Western  country  is  older,  and  until  the  people  there  have 
accumulated  capital,  no  panacea  will  be  found  in  the  greenback 
currency.  Two  dollars  a  bushel  for  wheat  is  no  better  for  the  farmer 
or  the  agricultural  interest  than  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  in  gold,  and 
by  maintaining  this  legal  tender  system,  the  more  paper  we  have  the 
more  we  shall  want.  It  was  claimed  by  the  able  speaker  from 
Chicago,  that  in  five  years  the  natural  production  of  gold  would 
harden  up  this  greenback  currency  into  real  money.  Five  years  will 
also  accumulate  wealth  from  the  earth  to  replace  the  wealth  destroyed 
in  the  rebellion  ;  and  I  advocate  the  measure  as  it  stands,  because  I 
believe  that  by  taking  five  years,  (as  it  is  only  proposed  to  do,)  the 
productions  of  the  earth  and  the  hardening  up  of  this  currency  by  the 
accumulation  of  gold  will  produce  the  same  results  ;  and  therefore, 
let  us  submit  to  the  minimum  contract  ion  of  three  millions  per  month. 

Mr.  BLAKELY  :  It  is  my  impression  that  the  whole  country  is 
looking  to  this  Convention  with  the  expectation  that  it  will  propose 
some  plan  by  which  we  shall  reach,  at  some  time,  specie  payment. 
Congress  has  been  debating  the  question  for  the  last  three  years,  and 
our  greenbacks  are  worth  less  than  seventy  cents  on  the  dollar.  Not 
withstanding  we  reckon  our  currency  in  dollars  and  cents,  still,  when 


THE    BANKS    TO  RESERVE    INTEREST GOLD.         183 

we  come  to  coin,  which  we  have  already  learned  is  the  basis  of  values, 
we  know  that  a  paper  dollar  is  worth  less  than  seventy  cents.  Until 
the  day  comes  when  we  can  provide  ourselves  with  means  to  meet 
that  currency  in  gold,  we  shall  never  make  any  progress.  We  are 
going  round  in  a  circle.  The  idea  of  having  an  irredeemable 
currency,  as  some  gentlemen  claim,  of  fifteen  hundred  millions,  with 
which  to  do  the  business  of  the  country,  is  simply  a  farce.  Six 
hundred  millions  was  sufficient  before  the  war.  There  are  now  two 
hundred  and  ninety-seven  millions  of  national  bank  currency  and 
three  hundred  and  ninety-one  millions  of  legal  tenders  ;  and  the 
deposits  and  general  circulation  of  the  country  amount  to  almost  a 
fabulous  sum.  With  a  view,  however,  to  reach,  as  I  hope  we  may, 
some  time  when  we  may  say,  "  we  are  preparing  to  resume  specie 
payments,"  I  support  the  resolution  offered  by  the  gentleman  from 
Toledo.  The  amount  of  coin  that  will  go  into  the  banks  on  that 
proposition  will  be  twenty  millions  a  year.  The  amount  of  reserves 
held  by  the  banks  under  the  law  is  about  one  hundred  and  fifty 
millions ;  consequently,  every  twenty  millions  that  goes  into  the 
banks  in  place  of  the  legal  tenders  now  held,  releases  twenty  millions 
of  legal  tenders  ;  and  we  shall  approximate  at  least  so  far  towards 
the  resumption  of  specie  payments  on  the  part  of  the  banks.  Three 
years  time  would  place  in  the  hands  of  the  banks  sixty  millions  of 
dollars  in  coin.  This  would  look  like  proceeding  towards  a  resump 
tion  of  specie  payments ;  that  grand  confidence,  to  which  the  gentle 
man  has  referred,  would  be  restored  to  the  people  ;  and  the  only 
question  then  would  be,  when  will  the  Government  itself  commence 
to  redeem  its  circulation?  We  should  have  sixty  millions  of  coin 
and  ninety  millions  of  greenbacks  in  the  hands  of  the  banks ;  and 
when  the  Government  should  proceed  to  redeem  its  own  circulation, 
the  banks  would  have  available  for  their  purposes,  one  hundred  and 
fifty  millions  of  dollars  to  sustain  themselves  in  the  resumption. 

I  would  like  to  have  that  resolution  come  in,  in  place  of  that  portion 
of  the  resolution  which  requires  the  Secretary  of  the  Treasury  to 
withdraw  three  millions  a  month. 

Mr.  BUZBY  :  I  now  propose  to  call  up  before  the  Convention 
the  motion  that  was  postponed  yesterday  afternoon  in  regard  to  a  free 
banking  law. 

The  gentleman  from  Boston,  I  believe,  who  opened  the  discussion 
this  morning,  was  pleased  to  direct  some  remarks  towards  my  argu 
ment  of  yesterday.  Now,  I  have  some  figures  here  which  I  think 
bear  directly  upon  this  point,  and  somewhat  touch  the  position  of 
Few  Eno-land  in  this  matter;  and  they  suffice  to  show  that  he  should 


184  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

be  content  with  the  present  distribution  of  the  currency,  while  the 
other  portions  of  the  United  States  may  be  directly  the  reverse.  I 
read  from  a  printed  statement  which  I  cut  out  of  a  paper  a  month  or 
two  ago,  wishing  to  preserve  it  for  use  thereafter. 

The  writer  says  that  before  the  war,  with  a  banking  capital  of 
eighty-five  millions,  the  New  England  States  had  a  circulation  of 
thirty  four  millions.  To  day,  with  one  hundred  and  forty-five  millions 
of  capital,  they  have  one  hundred  and  three  millions  in  circulation. 
That  is,  they  have  a  little  more  than  trebled,  in  the  short  space  of 
seven  years.  Thus  well  provided  at  home,  they  find  themselves 
ready  to  dispense  with  treasury  notes.  The  writer  goes  on  to  add, 
that  of  the  five  hundred  millions  of  legal  tenders  in  actual  use  in  the 
country,  New  England  has  more  than  a  fourth,  leaving  the  balance 
for  the  use  of  the  rest  of  our  immense  domain. 

Is  it  surprising  that  New  England  should  be  entirely  satisfied  with 
this  position  of  affairs?  Is  it  at  all  surprising  that  the  rest  of  the 
country  should  be  very  much  dissatisfied? 

It  was  suggested  in  the  Committee  that  we  should  scale  down  some 
of  these  banks  in  the  East ;  but  I  submit  that  is  an  impracticable 
proposition,  which  could  not  be  realized,  and  that  an  infinitely  easier 
way  will  be  to  pass  a  free  banking  law.  This  will  satisfy  the  mind 
of  the  West,  and  they  are  not  so  poor  but  that  they  have  capita]  in 
the  shape  of  five-twenties,  with  which  they  could  secure  the  circula 
tion,  and  have  the  advantage  of  the  national  currency  for  the  trans 
action  of  their  vast  business,  as  well  as  this  section  of  the  country. 
Why  should  this  Convention  refrain  from  expressing  an  opinion  in 
favor  of  granting  to  the  West  the  power  to  transact  its  own  business, 
not  only  for  its  own  benefit,  but  for  the  benefit  of  the  whole 
country? 

Mr.  ENDICOTT,  of  Boston  :  It  seems  to  me,  Mr.  President, 
that  the  resolutions  reported  by  the  Committee  meet  perfectly  the 
wishes  of  the  gentleman  from  Philadelphia,  and  of  those  other  gentle 
men,  who  have  advocated  a  free  banking  law.  For  myself,  I  can 
truly  say  that  I  abhor  monopolies,  and  will  advocate  a  free  banking 
law  the  moment  that  the  banks  are  able  to  maintain  specie  payments. 
The  true  policy,  in  my  opinion,  is  for  Government  to  require  the 
banks  to  be  always  prepared  to  meet  any  probable  demand  upon 
them,  even  in  a  moment  of  panic,  by  keeping  a  larger  reserve  of 
specie  than  has  hitherto  been  required.  The  public  grants  to  the 
banks  certain  valuable  privileges.  In  return,  it  has  a  right  to  demand 
at  all  times,  security.  The  banks  must  be  prepared  to  meet  their 
liabilities,  not  only  when  not  called  upon,  but  when  they  are  called 


DISTRIBUTION    OF    BANK    CIRCULATION.  185 

upon,  that  is  in  the  time  of  a  commercial  crisis.  It  is  sometimes  said 
that  the  specie  reserve  is  so  much  idle  capital.  The  office  of  the 
specie  in  bank  is,  .like  the  ballast  in  a  ship,  to  keep  the  monetary 
system  steady.  The  ship  may  get  on  very  well  and  perhaps  sail 
faster,  in  good  weather  and  a  smooth  sea,  with  little  ballast.  But  she 
cannot  live  in  a  heavy  storm,  and  may  be  thrown  on  her  beam  ends. 
This  has  usually  been  the  case  with  the  banks  of  this  country.  In 
easy  times,  they  go  on  with  full  sail  and  little  ballast,  and  when  the 
inevitable  revulsion  comes,  they  are  not  prepared  for  it,  and  have  no 
alternative  but  a  general  failure,  i.  e.,  a  suspension  of  specie  pay 
ments.  Compel  each  bank  to  have  in  its  vault  a  reserve  equal  to 
twenty-five  per  cent,  of  its  immediate  liabilities,  circulation  and  de 
posits,  and  you  have  then  placed  them  in  position  to  relieve,  rather 
than  aggravate,  a  financial  crisis. 

As  to  the  present  unequal  distribution  of  bank  circulation,  I  can 
very  well  appreciate  the  sensitiveness  of  our  Western  friends  upon 
that  point,  and  I  claim  that  the  resolutions  of  the  Committee  com 
pletely  meet  their  wishes^  The  resolutions  propose  to  allow  new 
banks  to  be  formed  at  the  West,  reducing  the  circulation  of  the 
Eastern  banks  in  the  same  proportion.  The  only  real  difference  will  be 
that  the  Western  banks  will  have  the  profit  of  the  circulation.  The 
currency  will  flow  off  as  now,  without  regard  to  the  place  of  issue,  to 
the  centres  of  capital.  For  whatever  the  West  has  to  give  in  ex 
change  for  money,  there  is  now  plenty  of  currency  at  command.  The 
creation  of  new  banks  will  not  give  the  West  any  new  capital ;  that 
must  come  as  the  product  of  labor  applied  to  the  teeming  soil,  or  as 
attracted  from  older  communities  by  tempting  rates  of  interest  or 
profit.  So  far  as  I  know  Eastern  sentiment,  there  will  be  no  objec 
tion  to  giving  the  West  a  larger  share  of  bank  circulation,  if  it  can  be 
done  without  increasing  the  volume  of  irredeemable  paper,  already 
greatly  in  excess.  It  has  been  urged  in  this  Convention  that  there  is 
no  such  excess,  but  I  claim  that  the  fact  that  paper  is  not  at  par  with 
gold  is  conclusive  proof  to  the  contrary.  My  friend  from  Chicago, 
(Mr.  DORE,)  contends  that  this  is  owing  to  want  of  confidence  in  the 
Government  paper.  I  cannot  agree  to  this.  Very  few  persons  ques 
tion  the  ability  of  this  Government  to  fulfil  its  engagements,  and  the 
indignation  which  our  Western  friends  express  when  accused  of  any 
leaning  toward  repudiation  is  a  sure  guarantee  that  the  disposition  to 
pay  will  not  be  wanting.  Greenbacks'  are  worth  but  seventy  cents  on 
the  dollar  in  gold.  Will  any  gentleman  say  that  the  probability  of 
payment  is  less  than  three  out  of  four?  No,  the  depreciation  is- 
caused  by  non-convertibility  and  redundancy.  When  the  paper  <-m- 
'24 


186  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

rency  is  at  once  convertible  into  specie,  the  circulation  will  adjust 
itself  to  the  wants  of  the  country.  When  more  is  needed,  it  will  be 
loaned  from  the  banks,  or  if  the  banks  are  not  able  to  discount,  ex 
change  on  Europe  will  fall  below  the  specie  shipping  point,  and  we 
shall  supply  our  wants  from  the  current  of  gold  constantly  passing 
from  California,  through  New  York  to  London.  This  is  just  as  much 
at  our  command  as  the  grain  sent  from  Chicago  through  New  York, 
to  Liverpool.  We  shall  as  surely  supply  our  needs  of  gold  as  of 
flour,  shipping  only  the  excess.  When  there  is  too  much  circulation, 
the  excess  of  paper  goes  back  to  the  banks  for  redemption,  and  the 
gold  thus  obtained  goes  abroad,  until  the  equilibrium  is  restored. 
With  specie  payments  suspended,  and  the  paper  circulation  not  con 
vertible,  there  is  no  outlet  for  the  excess.  Foreign  nations  will  not 
take  our  greenbacks,  and  prices  must  rise  sufficiently  to  employ  the 
redundant  supply.  Or  to  speak  more  correctly,  the  value  of  the 
paper  dollar  must  fall  in  proportion.  The  value  of  commodities  is  not 
enhanced,  only  the  nominal  price.  If  all  kinds  of  property  were 
equally  and  instantly  affected,  no  great  harm  would  result,  excepting 
between  debtor  and  creditor.  But  they  are  not  equally  affected. 
Some  kinds  of  merchandise  will  rise  quickly,  and  out  of  just  propor 
tion,  others  slowly  and  in  too  small  proportion.  The  result  is  a 
complete  unsettling  of  values,  uncertainty  of  all  engagements  for  the 
future,  an  unwillingness  to  rely  upon  patient  industry  and  slow  gains, 
speculation  and  finally  bankruptcy  and  ruin.  The  effect  is  precisely 
as  if  the  community  should  adopt  as  the  standard  measure  of  length 
an  india  rubber  yardstick,  sometimes  measuring  thirty-six,  and  as 
often  but  eighteen  inches.  We  have  been,  for  the  past  few  years, 
measuring  our  values  by  dollars,  worth  from  forty  to1  seventy  cents, 
thus  making  an  apparent,  but  not  real,  increase  of  wealth. 

No  greater  curse  can  befall  a  business  community  than  the  adoption, 
as  the  measure  of  values,  of  an  inconvertible  and  fluctuating  paper 
currency.  The  evidences  of  its  demoralizing  power  are  to  be  seen  on 
every  hand ;  let  us  lend  our  voices  to  bring  the  country  back,  as  soon 
as  possible,  to  a  sound  and  honest  condition  of  the  currency. 

With  the  permission  of  the  Convention,  I  will  show  the  present 
active  circulations  of  the  country,  as  compared  with  I860:— 

JANUARY  1,  1860. 

Bank  circulation, $207  102  477 

Bank  deposit*,        .                                    253,902,199 

Specie  in  bank,       .         . 83,594,537 

•S|N.fiu  in  Treasury, 6  695,225 

Specie  in  private  hands, .  10(MX)0,000 

Amount  carried  forimrd *  £651,194,368 


CIRCULATION    AND   PRICES.  187 

Amount  brought  forward,  ....  $651  194368 

Deduct  reserves : 

Specie  in  bank, $83,594,537 

Bank  notes  on  hand, 25  50^  567 

109,097,104 

Active  circulation,  January  1,  1860, $542,097,264 

OCTOBER   1,  18G7. 

Greenbacks  and  fractional  currency, $391,029,557 

Compound  interest  notes, 78  839  580 

Bank  circulation, 297  89G  984 

Private  deposits  in  bank, 537,922,575 

United  States  deposits  in  bank, 27,715,580 

Specie  in  banks  and  United  States  Treasury, 113,551,774 

Specie  in  private  hands, 100,000,000 

$1,546,956,050 
Deduct : 

Specie  in  bank, $10,253,115 

Specie  in  private  hands, 100,000,000 

Bank  bills  in  bank, 12,174,313 

Legal  tenders  in  bank, 100,550,849 

Compound  interest  notes,  (all,)       ....          78,839,580 

301,817,857 

Active  circulation,  October  1,  1867, $1,245,138,193 

Increase  from  1860,  130  per  cent. 

Increase,  omitting  bank  deposits  in  both  years,  146  per  cent.  The 
deposits  should  be  included,  as  they  are  available  as  currency  (by 
means  of  checks)  in  making  the  exchanges  of  commerce.  Omitting 
them,  the  excess  of  currency  becomes  greater. 

What  is  the  probable  increased  requirement  of  the  country  ?  The 
increased  population  is  about  twenty  per  cent.  The  increased  disburse 
ments  and  receipts  of  the  Government  (say  seven  hundred  millions) 
are  in  proportion  to  the  sales  of  merchandise  which  last  year  paid  tax 
(excluding  stocks  and  gold)  about  six  per  cent.  Allow  twenty-nine 
per  cent,  for  imaginary  needs,  and  we  have  still  an  excess  of  seventy- 
five  per  cent,  beyond  the  proper  wants  of  the  country,  and  which  must 
be  employed.  Prices  ought  then  to  stand  on  the  average  about 
seventy-five  per  cent,  higher  than  in  1860.  In  confirmation,  I  will 
refer  to  a  table  of  prices,  recently  published  in  Hunt's  Merchants' 
Magazine,  showing  the  prices,  from  1860  to  1868,  of  all  the  leading 
articles  of  merchandise.  The  average  advance  from  January  1st, 
1861  to  January  1st,  1868,  is  about  seventy-six  per  cent. 

(Mr.  WARD,  of  Boston,  suggested  that  more  currency 
was  required  than  formerly,  as  sales  were  more  gener 
ally  made  for  ca'sh.) 


188  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

In  reply  to  the  question  of  my  friend  from  Boston,  I  will  say  that 
I  tlo  not  hold  to  the  doctrine  that  cash  sales  require  more  currency 
than  sales  made  upon  credit.  The  proper  office  of  money  seems  to 
be  payment,  and  I  fail  to  see  why  any  more  money  is  required  to  pay 
a  debt  just  incurred,  than  would  be  required  to  pay  the  same  debt  at 
maturity  of  a  six  months'  credit.  Settlement  by  note  does  not  pay  a 
debt.  It  merely  makes  a  postponed  payment  negotiable,  and  in  this 
way  may  give  employment  to  more  rather  than  less  currency.  It 
may  be  sold  and  resold,  requiring  money  for  payment  at  every 
transfer  of  ownership. 

The  gentleman  from  Detroit,  (Mr.  FIELD,)  has  endeavored  to  show 
that  contraction  will  not  bring  us  back  to  specie  payments,  and  cites, 
in  proof,  that  gold  is  dearer  to-day  than  it  was  in  1865,  notwithstand 
ing  the  contraction  of  the  currency  that  has  taken  place  in  the  mean 
time.  He  will  find,  if  he  examines  the  quotations  for  gold  during  the 
hist  few  years,  that  the  prices  of  merchandise  have  shown  the  depre 
ciation  of  the  paper  currency  much  more  correctly  than  have  the 
quotations  for  gold.  Other  important  considerations  affect  the  price 
of  this  commodity.  At  the  close  of  the  war,  the  mass  of  the  people 
looked  in  confident  expectation  for  an  early  resumption  of  specie 
payments,  and  this  opinion  of  course  depressed  the  quotation.  At 
that  time  and  since,  we  have  exported  large  amounts  of  our  securities, 
supplying  the  market  with  exchange  on  London,  and  having  a  power 
ful  effect  in  reducing  the  price  of  gold.  So  that  it  may  be  safely 
asserted  that  since  the  close  of  the  war,  gold  has  been  relatively 
cheaper  than  commodities.  The  table  of  prices,  to  which  I  have 
already  referred,  shows  the  following  average  prices  of  fifty-six  lead 
ing  articles  of  merchandise  : — 

January  1,  1861.        1862.         1863.        1864.        1865.         1866.        1867.        1868. 
100         113          142          197         297         233         203          176 


These  averages  conform  with  remarkable  exactness  to  the  prices 
which  the  various  changes  in  the  volume  of  the  currency  at  those 
different  periods  might  be  expected  to  give.  They  show  further  that 
we  have  gone  through  with  more  than  half  the  inevitable  shrinkage 
in  prices  which  must  attend  the  transition  to  specie  payments.  Shall 
we,  by  further  expansion,  lose  all  that  we  have  gained  ?  Is  it  not 
rather  the  part  of  wisdom  to  keep  on  in  the  path  of  contraction,  in 
volving  some  farther  shrinkage  of  nominal  values,  if  you  will,  some 
real  loss  of  property  ;  but  the  sure  and.  as  I  believe,  the  only  road  to 
mercantile  prosperity,  as  it  is  to  national  honor. 


THE    WEST    LOYAL    TO    ITS    OBLIGATIONS.  189 

% 

Mr.  McCHESXEY,  of  Chicago  :  I  rise  to  support  the  resolu 
tion  of  Mr.  BUZBY.  I  agreed  that  the  report  of  the  Committee  should 
be  made  to  the  house,  reserving  to  myself  the  right  to  vote  against 
some  of  the  resolutions,  and  to  support  some  amendments.  I  aecepted 
the  report  at  the  time,  because  it  proposed  to  make  a  redistribution  of 
the  currency,  but  it  would  give  us,  at  the  West,  a  very  small  pro 
portion  after  all. 

According  to  the  present  distribution  of  national  bank  currency, 
these  New  England  States,  with  a  population  of  o,l^">,783,  have  a 
circulation  of  $103,800,639.  Add  to  the  New  England  States,  New 
York,  New  Jersey  and  Pennsylvania,  and  the  population  amounts  to 
about  10,500,000,  with  a  circulation  of  $220,483,911.  Take  the 
nine  States  of  the  Mississippi  valley  —  Ohio,  Indiana,  Illinois,  Michi 
gan,  Iowa,  Wisconsin,  Missouri,  Kentucky  and  Tennessee,  with  a 
population  of  11,049,296, —  something  over  half  a  million  more  than 
the  first  named, —  and  they  have  but  $o4,566,"15  of  the  circulation. 
Now,  it  is  proposed  to  scale  down  the  old  banks,  in  order  that  we 
shall  have  our  proportion  of  the  circulation  in  the  Western  States. 
Looking  over  the  statement  here,  I  find  that  the  report  of  the  Comp 
troller  of  the  Currency  in  November,  18(57,  was,  that  there  were 
1,639  banks,  with  a  capital  of  $424,394,801,  having  a  circulation  of 
$299,103,996.  Scaling  that  down  to  sixty  per  cent,,  it  takes  from 
their  circulation  $14,467,880. 

This  is  not  the  first  time  that  some  of  us  have  been  advertised  that 
all  the  wealth  and  all  the  brains  were  in  the  Atlantic  cities;  it  has 
been  published  often  enough  in  the  papers ;  but  we  may  perhaps 
understand  what  we  want  in  the  West,  as  well  as  gentlemen  on  the 
seaboard.  We  claim  that  the  domestic  commerce  may  be  worthy  of 
some  consideration,  as  well  as  the  foreign  commerce.  We  find  that 
these  gentlemen  on  the  seaboard  base  all  their  calculations  on  gold,  to 
bring  them  on  a  par  with  foreign  countries,  leaving  us  in  the  West  to 
take  care  of  ourselves.  Perhaps  we  can  do  that,  after  a  time.  We 
have  done  it  pretty  well,  so  far.  I  have  been  asked  several  times, 
since  I  have  been  here,  whether  the  West  was  going  to  repudiate  the 
bonds,  and  adopt  Mr.  BUTLER'S  proposition.  I  think  you  will  find, 
when  you  corne  to  a  vote  on  the  second  resolution  contained  in  this 
report,  that  the  people  of  the  West  are  loyal  to  their  pecuniary  obli 
gations  as  they  were  proven  to  be  loyal  to  their  political  obligations. 
(Applause.)  We  demand, — we  do  not  ask  it  as  a  favor, — we  demand 
a  fair  distribution  of  the  national  currency,  and  if  we  can  get  a  free 
banking  law,  w^e  will  take  that  ;  but  we  think  that,  with  the  growth 
of  the  country,  we  can  get  back  to  specie  payments,  the  greenbacks 


190  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

will  be  withdrawn,  and  your  national  banks  will  have  but  very  little 
basis.  Five  years  will  leave  them  only  one  hundred  and  eighty 
millions  of  greenbacks  for  a  reserve ;  the  balance  must  be  paid  up  in 
gold.  Now,  we  find  that  from  I860  to  18 68,  the  population  of  the 
City  of  Chicago  increased  from  109,263  to  220,000,  and  that  the 
assessed  value  of  the  real  estate  and  property  increased  in  the  same 
period  from  $37,003,512  to  $192,249,644;  and  during  that  time, 
the  City  of  Chicago  paid  to  the  Federal  Government,  in  taxes, 
$24,628,392.  The  annual  tax  paid  by  the  City  of  Chicago  to  the 
Federal  Government  was  just  about  the  amount  of  the  banking  capi 
tal  we  have  there,  under  this  national  banking  law. 

In  regard  to  the  statement  of  the  gentleman  from  Boston  as  to  the 
currency.  He  counts  the  deposits  as  so  much  available  currency. 

Mr.  EXDICOTT  :  The  argument  is  all  the  stronger  if  the  de 
posits  are  left  out. 

Mr.  McClIESXEY  :  I  have  not  gone  into  that  calculation.  I 
merely  want  to  say,  I  remember  that  at  the  time  of  the  suspensions 
in  1857,  it  was  found  that  the  Safety  Fund  banks  had  large  deposits, 
but  representing,  on  the  other  side,  protested  paper.  So  you  might 
make  any  amount  of  available  currency  according  to  that ;  but  it 
would  only  represent  worthless  paper. 

Mr.  MuXX  :  Some  of  our  people  are  in  a  hurry  ;  I  am  not ;  but 
to  bring  the  thing  to  a  point,  I  move  to  strike  out  the  last  resolution. 
I  do  it  because  our  banking  capital  is  now  restricted  by  the  Govern 
ment  of  the  United  States.  I  do  not  propose  that  it  shall  assume  to 
itself  all  the  powers  that  were  exercised  by  the  Colonies  even  before 
they  were  independent  of  the  English  Government.  The  usury  laws 
have  always  been  under  the  control  of  the  several  States.  Other 
gentlemen  think  we  had  better  let  it  remain  so  for  the  present.  I 
should  be  in  favor,  if  this  passed,  of  a  free  banking  law ;  then  I  think 
we  of  the  West  could  regulate  the  price  of  interest.  That  is  all  I 
have  to  say. 

Mr.  ATKINSON,  of  Boston  :  The  main  question  before  this 
Convention  for.  discussion  appears  to  be  the  enactment  of  a  free  bank 
ing  law.  It  is  quite  evident  that  the  Convention  will  only  tolerate  a 
discussion  of  the  currency  question  from  the  specie  stand-point,  and 
this,  Mr.  Chairman,  is  to  me  one  of  the  most  gratifying  results  of  the 
holding  of  the  Convention.  I  confess,  sir,  that  I  dreaded  this  discus* 
sioii,  and  that  I  feared  the  result,  until  it  had  become  evident  that  the 
true  West  was  here  represented.  It  has  been  said,  sir,  and  has  been 
believed  in  the  East,  that  the  West  is  practically  un  unit  in  favor  of 


THE    WEST    NEEDS    BANKIXG    CAPITAL.  191 

the  continued  use  of  inconvertible  paper  money,  and  of  what  is  called 
payment  of  bonds  in  greenbacks.  On  my  return  from  tin  extended 
tour  in  the  West  last  autumn,  I  denied  this,  and  affirmed  that  the 
solid,  substantial  men  of  the  West  were  right,  and  that  we  needed 
only  to  give  them  time  and  they  would  make  their  influence  felt. 
But,  sir,  I  knew  the  inflationists  and  the  repudiators  to  be  active,  un 
scrupulous  and  aggressive ;  and  I  feared  lest  they  should  pack  some 
of  the  delegations,  and  thus  cause  this  Convention  to  misrepresent 
the  business  community  as  much  as  the  political  knaves  who  advocate 
disguised  repudiation  under  the  name  of  payment  of  bonds  in  green 
backs,  now  misrepresent  or  mislead  their  constituents. 

But,  sir,  my  fears  were  groundless ;  the  true  and  honest  purpose  of 
the  business  community  to  get  back  to  specie  payment  is  by  none 
more  truly  represented  than  by  the  Western  men  here  present,  who 
are  from  sections  that  have  been  the  most  distrusted ;  and  therefore 
the  main  point  of  discussion  is  only  upon  the  question  of  free  banking, 
and  upon  that  I  propose  the  following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  advocates  the  immediate  passage  of 
a  free  national  banking  law,  with  suitable  provision  for  the  redemp 
tion  of  notes  issued  by  national  banks ;  provided,  that  for  every 
additional  note  issued  to  or  by  any  new  bank,  a  legal  tender  note  of 
equal  amount  shall  be  withdrawn. 

This.  Mr.  Chairman,  would  be  one,  and  a  very  effective  step  toward 
specie  payment.  What  the  West  and  South  need,  if  they  need  any 
thing,  is  more  real  capital  invested  in  banking,  not  more  paper 
promises,  which  may  bring  capital  to  the  holder  sometime  or  other 
when  the  nation  chooses  to  pay  them,  but  which  for  the  present  are- 
mere  evidences  of  debt.  Capital  can  only  be  the  actual  existing 
surplus  result  of  past  labor  put  into  form  for  use ;  as  such  it  has  sub 
stantial  value ;  as  such  it  is  constructive ;  as  such  it  is  evidence  of 
wealth  and  is  a  real  possession  to  its  owner ;  and  a  bank  bill  con 
vertible  into  specie  on  demand  is  evidence  of  the  title  of  the  holder 
to  such  capital  in  existence  and  held  by  the  bank  or  held  by  the 
promisors  of  the  notes  discounted  by  such  bank.  But  the  paper 
promise  of  the  Government  is  evidence  of  destruction,  not  construc 
tion  ;  of  labor  and  wealth  consumed  in  the  war;  it  is  only  a  mortgage 
upon  the  labor  of  the  future,  and  represents  no  capital  in  ex 
istence. 

Increase  the  quantity  of  these  paper  promises  in  circulation  either 
directly  or  by  an  additional  issue  of  bank  notes  redeemable  in  thorn, 


192  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

and  you  have  not  added  a  single  dollar  to  the  real  capital  of  the 
country.  You  may  have  added  certain  instruments  by  which  the 
distribution  of  the  true  wealth  of  the  country  may  be  altered  and 
rendered  inequitable,  but  you  have  added  no  productive  force  to  the 
community. 

What  the  West  needs  is  more  actual,  real  capital,  invested  in  the 
business  of  banking.  Now,  sir,  if  a  free  banking  law  is  enacted  upon 
the  plan  proposed,  with  tin-  provision  that  for  every  new  bank  note 
issued  a  greenback  shall  be  cancelled,  you  are  taking  a  positive  and 
effective  step  toward  making  every  national  bank  note  redeemable  in 
specie,  that  is  in  real  capital  of  which  real  or  specie  money  is  one 
form. 

There  is  doubtless  a  large  amount  of  real  capital  in  the  West  and 
South — or  capital  lhat  would  go  there,  to  be  used  in  banking,  except 
for  the  limitation  of  the  law.  Suppose  it  should  prove  in  the  next 
two  or  three  years  that  there  were  two  hundred  million  dollars  thus 
waiting  opportunity,  and  that  such  sum  should  be  subscribed  to  new 
banks.  Such  capital  would  then  be  mainly  invested  in  Government 
bonds;  the  Government  would  then  have  it  available  for  the  purpose 
of  buying  up  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars  of  its  legal  tender 
demand  notes,  it  would  so  do,  and  issue  to  such  new  banks  seventy- 
five  per  cent,  of  their  capital  in  new  notes,  say  one  hundred  and  fifty 
million  dollars.  The  volume  of  the  currency  would  then  be  the 
same,  but  the  amount  of  lawful  money  would  be  so  much  less.  The 
new  banks  would  be  obliged  to  keep  a  reserve  of  lawful  money, 
which  should  not  be  less  than  twenty-five  per  cent.,  and  this  would 
take  fifty  million  dollars  more  legal  tenders  out  of  circulation. 

When  one  hundred  and  fifty  million  dollars  of  legal  tender  notes 
had  thus  been  actually  funded,  the  day  would  not  be  for  dis 
tant  when  the  Government  could  propose  to  pay  the  remainder 
in  gold. 

Now  let  us  look  at  the  effect  of  this  operation  upon  existing  banks. 
They  as  well  as  the  new  ones  must  keep  a  reserve  of  lawful  money, 
and  as  the  legal  tender  notes  were  being  absorbed  or  funded  by  the 
establishment  of  the  new  banks,  all  the  banks  must  begin  to  retain 
the  gold  paid  them  and  to  make  it  a  part  of  their  reserve.  This 
they  must  do  under  the  operation  of  natural  law, — for  self-protection, 
—to  avoid  bankruptcy,— and  presently  you  might  find  the  banks  not 
only  retaining  gold  but  buying  it,  thus  creating  a  demand ;  that  de 
mand  would  induce  the  supply,  and  all  other  commodities  would 
adjust  themselves  gradually  to  gold  prices. 


THE  COURSE  TO  BE  PURSUED.         193 

It  might  prove  that  by  such  establishment  of  new  banks  in  the 
South  and  West,  some  old  banks  now  in  existence  in  the  East  would 
become  superfluous,  and  such  result  would  be  natural  and  right. 
When  the  currency  is  made  absolutely  redeemable  in  specie,  the 
aggregate  amount  required  will  regulate  itself;  but  our  present 
forced  circulation  of  irredeemable  paper  cannot  be  regulated  or  de 
fined  ;  neither  is  it  self-regulating ;  the  prices  of  commodities  must 
adjust  themselves  to  the  arbitrary  and  unchanging  volume  of  cur 
rency,  not,  as  under  a  natural  system,  the  volume  of  currency  to  the 
uses  for  which  currency  is  wanted. 

An  arbitrary  or  fixed  amount  of  inconvertible  currency  will  always 
be  least  wanted  when  there  is  the  most  to  be  had,  and  most  wanted 
when  there  is  least ;  it  will  be  very  plenty  between  crops,  and  very 
scarce  when  crops  are  moving;  therefore  we  can  never  have  enough, 
and  shall  always  have  too  much,  until  it  is  withdrawn.  It  is  a  thief, 
and  will  steal  from  labor  an  unfair  share  of  its  earnings,  until  its 
promise  can  be  performed,  and  a  real  dollar  can  be  had  on  demand. 
Its  advocates  are  more  dangerous  enemies  to  the  country,  than  were 
the  rebels  of  the  South. 

Having  given  this  hasty  statement  of  the  grounds  on  which  I 
would  advocate  a  free  banking  law,  I  will  now  say  a  few  words  in 
support  of  the  resolves  presented  by  the  Committee  ;  and  I  cannot 
forbear  a  reference  to  a  letter  of  my  own,  which  was  printed  a  few 
weeks  since  in  the  Attw  York  Evening  Post.  I  believe  nearly  every 
point  made  in  the  report  of  the  C'ommittee  is  substantially  made  in 
this  letter  ;  in  it,  I  made  the  following  propositions : 

1st.     To  legalize  gold  contracts  at  once. 

2nd.  The  immediate  enactment  of  a  free  banking  law;  all  new 
banks  to  be  organized  on  a  specie  basis,  and  free  from  the  mischievous 
and  absurd  trammels  of  usury  laws. 

ord.  The  absolute  sale  of  four  million  dollars  a  week  of  ten- 
forty  bonds,  or  the  like;  such  sales  to  begin  July  1,  18G8;  payment 
to  be  made  in  greenbacks,  to  be  cancelled. 

4th.  An  enactment  that  on  and  after  January  1,  1870,  gold  coin 
shall  be  the  only  legal  tender. 

1  advocate  the  first  proposition  upon  the  following  grounds:  It  is 
alleged  that  business  is  now  conducted  upon  a  cash  system,  and  this 
is  technically  true  ;  but  yet  credit  is  essential  to  all  the  movements 'of 
society.  The  fanner  who  plants  a  field  of  wheat,  credits  or  trusts 
some  one  to  reimburse  him  in  the  future  ;  the  manufacturer  who  lays 
the  foundation  of  a  mill,  the  storekeeper  who  lays  in  a  stock  of 
goods,  all  trust  or  grant  a  credit  to  the  future.  The  ordinary  trans- 

25 


1114  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

actions  of  society,  such  as  the  raising  of  a  crop,  the  stocking  of  a. 
store,  and  the  moving  of  a  crop  from  the  farm  to  the  market,  take 
from  three  to  six  months.  The  ordinary  mercantile  credits,  when 
grunted,  also  fall  within  six  months.  Now  the  return  to  specie  pay 
ment  cannot  be  easy  to  men  who  enter  into  an  obligation  to  pay 
money  when  legal  tender  notes  are  worth  seventy-five  cents  on  a 
dollar,  and  who  are  obliged  to  pay  in  real  dollars  at  one  hundred  cents, 
yet  such  a  change  must  take  effect ;  the  curse  of  fluctuating  money  is 
an  injury  to  the  whole  people,  and  cannot  be  tolerated  in  order  that 
a  few  debtors  may  be  saved  from  loss.  But  we  are  bound  to  give 
them  fair  warning.  Having  suspended  contraction  for  the  present, 
we  must  give  the  opportunity  to  those  who  choose  to  incur  a  liability, 
or  to  lay  the  foundations  of  large  mills  or  other  works,  to  do  so  upon 
a  gold  basis,  and  thus  avoid  the  danger  of  fluctuation.  Then,  by 
giving  warning  that  after  six  months  we  shall  again  begin  to  fund 
the  demand  or  legal  tender  notes,  we  shut  the  mouths  of  those  who 
choose  to  incur  a  debt  payable  in  legal  tenders.  They  could  not, 
after  such  warning,  allege  that  we  had  no  right  to  interfere  with  a 
given  volume  of  currency,  to  which  business  had  adjusted  itself. 

As  to  the  country  growing  up  to  the  existing  volume  of  currency, 
I  do  not  believe  in  it.  The  bank  note  circulation  of  Great  Britain 
was  less  in  1865  than  in  1845,  because  the  railroad  and  telegraph 
system  had  so  facilitated  the  exchange  of  merchandise,  as  to  cau.-e 
each  bank  note  to  perform  its  function  oftener.  But  we  shall  never 
know  how  much  currency  is  needed  until  we  have  free  banking  on  a 
specie  basis ;  then  the  volume  of  currency  will  regulate  itself. 

It  will  thus  appear  that  I  had  practically  come  to  the  same  conclu 
sions  as  are  presented  in  the  report  of  the  majority  of  the  Committee, 
including  free  banking,  only  upon  a  specie  basis.  I  therefore  second 
the  resolutions  as  a  whole. 

The  amendment  1  have  offered  is  not  my  own  ;  it  was  suggested 
by  a  friend  who  is  not  a  member  of  the  Convention  ;  and  as  it 
appears  to  me  to  have  great  merit,  and  to  offer,  perhaps,  a  more 
speedy  method  of  reaching  specie  payment,  I  have  offered  it. 

.Mr.  liOLTOX  I  I  was  hoping  not  to  have  felt  called  upon  to  say 
a  word  on  this  great  and  important  que?tion,  but  I  am  constrained  to 
make  one  remark  on  behalf  of  the  West,  upon  which  so  much  re- 
sjKMisibility  is  laid  at  this  juncture.  I  do  not  for  a  moment  sympa 
thize  with  the  idea  that  is  put  forth  here  by  some,  that  the  West  is 
any  less  concerned  in  the  question  of  getting  back  to  rock-bottom, 
than  is  Boston  or  Philadelphia.  (Applause.)  Wisconsin  is  in 
earnest  in  her  efforts  for  the  payment  of  her  debts,  and  in  carrying 


THE    WEST    FOR    RESUMPTION.  195 

forward  the  great  question,  not  only  of  the  regulation  of  internal 
commerce,  but  of  external  also.  I  put  the  question  to  a  Boston 
gentleman  last  night,  "  Why  are  your  ships  rotting  at  your  wharves? 
It  is,"  I  said,  "  because  we  are  away  from  the  rock-bottom  on  which 
the  nations  of  the  earth  transact  business."  (Applause.)  When  we 
can  get  back  to  rock-bottom,  we  shall  again  have  free  commercial 
intercourse  with  the  world.  We  stand  forty  millions  against  nine 
hundred  millions,  and  we  cannot  afford  to  live  apart  and  alone.  I 
should  deplore  any  proposition  here  that  should  not  have  the  effect, 
among  other  things,  to  cause  me  to  notify  my  wife  that  she  must  cut 
the  ribbons  from  her  bonnet,  and  my  daughters  that  they  must  come 
down  to  plainer  dresses,  and  myself,  too,  that  I  must  reduce  my 
expenses,  in  order  that  this  country  may  again  participate  in  the 
commerce  of  the  globe  ;  and  also,  that  I  personally  may  know,  by 
this  standard, — the  best  mankind  has  ever  fixed, — what  is  the  value 
of  my  real  and  personal  estate. 

Mr.  COLE,  of  St.  Louis  :  I  am  very  glad  the  honorable  gen 
tleman  from  Milwaukie  has  expressed  himself  as  he  has  on  this 
important  question.  I  wish  to  offer  a  resolution  ;  it  will  not  be  new 
to  many  gentlemen  present,  but  I  would  like  to  hear  their  views 
upon  it : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  respectfully  request  the  Congress 
of  the  United  States  to  authorize  a  loan,  to  be  negotiated  in  Europe, 
of  two  hundred  millions  of  dollars,  at  not  less  than  par,  and  at  a  rate 
of  interest  not  exceeding  six  per  cent.,  with  the  distinct  agreement 
that  the  proceeds  of  said  loan  shall  be  used  exclusively  for  specie 
resumption. 

I  believe  that  we  can  resume,  and  that  resumption  is  the  only 
panacea  for  the  evils  under  which  we  are  laboring.  I  do  not  believe 
that  one-half  of  this  amount  would  be  required.  The  fact  that  such 
a  loan  had  been  authorized  would  unloose  millions  of  dollars  now 
hoarded  up  in  old  stockings  and  bags,  and  hid  away  in  the  banks, 
which  would  immediately  go  into  the  circulation  of  the  country. 
The  West  is  for  resumption  ;  without  it,  the  West  cannot  live ;  nor 
can  we  live  as  a  nation. 

Mr.  GANG,  of  Cincinnati  :  I  ask  for  a  temporary  suspension 
of  the  business  before  the  Convention,  in  order  that  I  may  introduce 
certain  resolutions,  upon  which  I  desire  action  before  any  of  the 
delegates,  who  may  be  obliged  shortly  to  take  their  departure  from 
the  city,  shall  leave  the  hall.  I  beg  to  move  as  follows  : 


106  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

WIIKKEAS,  The  Boston  Board  of  Trade,  with  a  regard  for  the 
prosperity  of  the  commercial  interests  of  the  nation,  only  excelled 
by  its  munificent  hospitality,  and  with  a  sense  of  courteous  propriety 
toward  its  kindred  associations  that  may  well  serve  to  incite  us  all  to 
foster  a  spirit  of  mutual  forbearance,  of  kindly  interest,  and  of  gene 
rous  emulation ;  has  taken  the  lead  in  efforts  to  produce  such  action 
ut  the  hands  of  the  several  bodies  represented  in  this  Convention,  as 
will  elevate  them  in  their  relations  to  one  another,  and  to  all  industrial 
interests  ;  therefore, 

Resolved,  That  the  most  cordial  thanks  of  this  Convention  are  due, 
and  are  hereby  tendered  to  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade,  for  its  efforts 
to  further  the  objects  which  have  brought  us  together,  and  especially 
for  its  assiduously  polite  attentions,  bestowed  with  unremitting  zeal 
upon  us  all,  both  as  individuals  and  as  representatives.  Its  members 
shall  always  be  welcome  to  the  best  our  hearts  and  hearths  can 
tender. 

Resolved,  That  even  though  no  positive  or  direct  advantage  should 
result  from  our  deliberations  and  discussions,  yet,  nevertheless,  we 
realize  that  the  inspiration  drawn  from  the  patriotic  and  enterprising 
spirit  pervading  the  atmosphere  of  the  Old  Bay  State,  will  serve  us 
an  invigorating  tonic,  exciting  in  us  a  more  jealous  concern  for  what 
is  right,  and  refreshing  us  for  new  achievements  in  commerce,  in 
science  and  in  art. 

Resolved,  That  the  members  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade  have 
drawn  so  largely  on  our  gratitude,  that  our  reserves  are  well  nigh 
exhausted;  and  that  we  must  consequently  go  into  bankruptcy  on 
the  social  obligations  which  we  acknowledge  to  be  due  to  the  citizens 
of  Boston,  to  their  municipal  authorities,  and  to  themselves  individu 
ally.  Boston  can  divide  the  assets  remaining,  and  we  mortgage  our 
selves  for  the  balance,  swearing  here  and  now  never  to  repudiate  the 
debt. 

Resolved,  That  our  thanks  are  hereby  tendered  to  the  officers  of 
the  Convention  for  their  prompt,  constant  and  courteous  attention  to 
its  deliberations,  and  for  their  able  administration  of  its  business. 

Resolved,  That  our  thanks  are  especially  due  to  Mr.  HAMILTON 
A.  HILL,  for  his  arduous  labors  in  behalf  of  the  purposes  of  the  Con 
vention,  as  well  in  the  preliminary  work  of  bringing  it  about,  as  in 
aiding  to  make  effective  its  deliberations. 

Resolved,  That  our  acknowledgments  are  gratefully  tendered  to  the 
various  transportation  companies  that  have  so  kindly  tendered  to  the 
members  of  the  Convention  the  courtesies  of  their  lines. 


EXCHANGE    OF    COURTESIES.  197 

The  resolutions  were  unanimously  adopted,  and 
three  hearty  cheers  were  given  for  Boston  and  for 
Massachusetts. 

Mr.  NAZIIO,  President  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade, 
in  response  to  the  resolutions,  said  : 

MR.  PRESIDENT,  AND   GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CONVENTION  : 

I  did  not  suppose  that  a  vote  of  the  nature  that  has  just  been  taken 
would  be  proposed,  and  come  up  at  this  particular  moment,  but  you 
will  pardon  me  for  detaining  you  to  reply  briefly  to  the  flattering 
compliment  just  paid  us.  We  have  been  together  four  days,  during 
all  which  time  there  has  been  manifested,  from  the  representatives  of 
all  parts  of  the  land,  a  deep  interest  in  the  action  of  this  Convention. 
When  I  have  taken  you  by  the  hand,  gentlemen,  I  have  found  the 
warmest  grasp  of  friendship,  and,  as  has  been  said  before,  "  though 
we  met  as  strangers  we  shall  part  as  friends."  I  have  felt  and 
appreciated  the  language  of  the  poet,  that 

"  Parting  is  such  sweet  sorrow, 
That  I  could  say  good  night  until  it  be  to-morrow." 

We  cannot  say  good  night,  gentlemen,  for  we  go  to  our  respective 
homes  probably  never  to  meet  again.  Gentlemen,  we  are  soon  to 
separate  officially.  You  take  with  you  our  respect  and  affection  ;  and 
I  trust  that  when  you  shall  have  left  us,  you  will  entertain  kindly 
feelings  toward  us,  and  that  you  will  not  feel  it  in  vain  that  you  have 
paid  us  this  visit.  We  shall  not  probably  meet  together  again  in  this 
world  ;  but  let  us  remember, — let  me  say,  not  only  gentlemen,  but 
dear  friends, — that  there  is  a  country  where  there  will  be  no  parting. 
And  before  leaving  for  your  distant  homes,  permit  me  to  commend 
you  to  the  protection  of  Almighty  God  ;  that  He  will  guard,  protect, 
and  keep  you  through  all  your  lives ;  and  that  when  the  closing 
scene  shall  come,  He  will  receive  you  into  His  blessed  kingdom, 
through  the  intercessions  of  our  glorious  Redeemer.  Gentlemen,  I 
take  of  you  an  affectionate  farewell. 

The  consideration  of  the  report  of  the  Finance 
Committee  was  then  resumed. 

Mr.  CASS,  of  Pittsburgh  :  It  is  not  my  purpose  to  debate 
the  propositions  presented  here  by  the  Committee.  I  propose  to 
leave  that  to  the  Chairman,  who  is  able  to  defend  the  report.  I 


108  COMMERCIAL  CONVENTION. 

wish  only  to  make  an  appeal  to  the  Convention  to  support  the  report 
as  it  has  been  presented  here.  Unfortunately,  and  against  my  judg 
ment,  I  was  put  upon  that  Committee.  We  have  been  in  session,  as 
you  know,  two  whole  days ;  and  we  have  presented  here  a  report 
whirl),  in  its  entire  length  and  breadth,  I  presume  at  first  had  the 
approbation  of  hardly  any  of  the  thirty  members,  except,  perhaps, 
the  Chairman,  and  I  am  not  certain  that  it  had  his.  We  had,  there 
fore,  each  one,  to  make  a  concession  ;  and  the  debate  shows  that  we 
might  go  on  here  piling  amendment  upon  amendment  until  we  waste 
the  report  all  away.  I  hope  that  amendments  will  not  be  made  so  as 
to  emasculate  the  report ;  but  that  we  shall  adopt  it  as  it  stands.  I 
ask,  therefore,  that  you  will  forbear,  and  that  you  will  take  the  report, 
as  I  and  the  other  members  of  the  Committee  took  it,  namely,  as  the 
very  best  thing  we  could  bring  to  you  under  all  the  circumstances. 

Mr.  WARD,  of  Boston  :  I  understand  the  first  resolution  of 
the  report  to  be  before  the  Convention.  I  wish  to  say  a  word  or  two 
in  regard  to  it.  In  the  first  place,  it  appears  to  me  that  the  resolution 
itself  contains  an  error.  It  states  that  property  values  have  already 
adapted  themselves  to  the  amount  of  currency.  Let  us  look  at  this. 
About  a  year  ago,  a  law  was  passed  by  Congress,  providing  for  the 
contraction  of  the  currency,  —  the  very  thing  contemplated  by  this 
resolution.  At  that  time,  if  I  recollect  rightly,  gold  was  at  one  hun 
dred  and  twenty-seven.  Immediately,  under  the  operation  of  that 
act,  gold  commenced  to  rise,  and  went  up  as  high  as  one  hundred  and 
sixty-seven,  there  being  a  contraction,  in  the  meantime,  of  one  hun 
dred  and  thirty  millions.  That  is  one  point  for  the  Convention  to 
look  at  before  acting  upon  this  proposition.  Here,  under  the  opera 
tion  of  this  very  plan  now  proposed  to  be  repeated,  gold  went  from 
one  hundred  and  twenty-seven  to  one  hundred  and  sixty-seven,  and 
in  the  meantime,  there  were  a  hundred  and  twenty  or  a  hundred  and 
thirty  million  of  dollars  withdrawn.  That  is  the  simple  fact.  I  make 
no  comment  upon  it,  for  I  have  not  time. 

Mr.  ToBEY  :  I  wish  to  suggest  to  my  friend,  —  whose  views  I 
appreciate,  and  I  know  this  Convention  will  appreciate,  —  one  simple 
consideration.  It  is  quite  evident  that  the  document  we  are  discussing 
is  as  expansive  as  the  currency  itself,  and  that  we  can  never  end  the 
debate  unless  we  bring  ourselves  to  some  limit.  There  has  been  no 
subject  before  us  so  important  as  this  subject  of  the  currency ;  and, 
for  one,  I  should  be  glad  to  spend  three  days  in  the  discussion,  so 
instructive  and  so  interesting.  I  have  forborne,  myself,  to  present 
any  views,  —  holding  some  as  I  do  very  definitely,  of  more  or  less 


CLOSING    OF    DEBATE    ON     FINANCE.  I'J'J 

value,  perhaps  not  much,  —  preferring  to  listen  to  others.  I  hope 
that  some  measure  will  be  suggested  by  the  Chairman  of  the  Com 
mittee  by  which  we  can  speedily  come  to  a  vote  upon  the  main 
subject.  It  should  not  be  forgotten,  that  there  has  been  a  full  dis 
cussion  in  Committee,  and  that  with  the  differences  we  have,  we  shall 
never  reach  a  better  platform,  on  the  whole,  (though  from  some 
of  the  views  we  may  dissent,)  than  the  report  of  the  Committee 
itself. 

Mr.  FjRALEY  :  I  believe  amendments  have  been  offered  to  every 
proposition  submitted  by  the  Committee,  but  if  there  are  any  others 
to  be  suggested,  I  am  willing  to  postpone  what  I  have  to  say  for  ten 
minutes,  to  enable  such  propositions  to  be  introduced.  At  the  end  of 
the  ten  minutes,  I  would  like  to  bring  this  debate  to  a  close.  (Loud 
calls  of  *'  Go  on,"  "  Go  on.") 

Mr.  President,  I  approach  what  I  have  to  say  upon  this  subject 
with  a  great  deal  of  diffidence.  Almost  all  the  points  involved  in  this 
report  have  been  presented  for  your  consideration  and  have  been  dis 
cussed.  Many  of  the  arguments  that  I  would  have  made  myself  in 
favor  of  this  report  have  already  been  made,  and  all  that  has  been 
urged  against  it  I  have  heard  before,  in  the  Committee  of  conference, 
in  principle  if  not  absolute  language.  All  that  I  have  heard  in  favor 
of  this  report  has  strengthened  my  own  convictions  that  it  approaches 
as  near  to  the  deliberate  judgment  of  this  Convention  upon  these 
several  questions  as  it  is  at  the  present  moment  possible  to  arrive  at. 

The  necessity  for  some  declaration  of  this  sort  on  the  part  of  such 
a  Convention  as  this,  must,  I  think,  be  apparent  to  every  one.  As  I 
had  the  honor  to  say  at  the  opening  of  this  Convention  that  the  cur 
rency  question  was  that  which  entered  into  every  man's  business,  into 
every  man's  household,  and  into  all  the  relations  of  life  ;  so  I  say 
again,  I  believe  that  the  currency  of  the  country  should  at  all  times 
be  redeemable  in  specie.  (Applause.)  I  believe  there  are  occasions 
sometimes  arising  from  commercial  convulsions  when  it  becomes 
absolutely  necessary  for  the  good  of  the  whole  country  that  specie 
payments  should  be  temporarily  suspended.  I  believe  there  are 
other  occasions,  in  the  exigencies  of  war,  when  from  public  necessity 
they  must  be  suspended.  And  I  believe  that  after  the  cessation  of 
the  causes  which  have  produced  such  results,  specie  payments  should 
be  resumed  at  the  earliest  practical  moment  when  that  result  can  be 
accomplished  without  shocking  public  or  private  creditor  overturning 
all  the  relations  of  industry.  (Applause.) 

\Ye  have  had,  Mr.  President,  three  great  wars,  leading  to  suspen 
sions  of  specie  payments,  from  public  necessity.  And  the  chapter  of 


201)  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

history  presents  to  us  what  occurred  upon  the  termination  of  each  of 
these  three  great  wars,  —  the  first,  the  war  of  the  revolution,  the 
second  the  war  of  1812,  and  the  third,  the  lamentable  war  among 
ourselves.  Specie  payments,  suspended  during  the  war  of  the  revo 
lution,  were  only  resumed  by  the  almost  wholesale  repudiation  of  the 
public  debt  of  the  United  States.  The  wisdom  and  the  sagacity  of 
ALEXANDER  HAMILTON  extricated  a  small  portion  of  that  debt  from 
repudiation  ;  and  that  small  portion  of  the  debt,  so  extricated  from 
repudiation,  was  faithfully,  fully  paid  by  the  people  of  the  United 
States  in  gold  or  silver,  or  their  equivalents.  The  war  of  1812 
brought  about  another  suspension  of  specie  payments,  and  at  the 
close  of  that  war  specie  payments  were  resumed  by  universal  bank 
ruptcy  of  the  people.  Those  who  recall  the  fearful  times  that  were 
passed  through  from  1816  up  to  1824,  will  realize  with  peculiar  force 
the  fact  to  which  I  have  alluded  —  that  it  was  a  country  of  almost 
universal  bankruptcy.  And  now,  Mr.  President,  we  have  had  a  more 
stupendous  suspension  of  specie  payments  than  has  ever  occurred 
before  in  our  history,  and  the  great  problem  that  we  have  to  solve  is 
this:  how  shall  we  bring  about  a  resumption  of  specie  payments 
without  national  dishonor  or  individual  bankruptcy  ?  And  I  think 
the  world  has  grown  sufficiently  in  intelligence  upon  these  subjects  to 
decide  that  as  reasonable  men,  as  business  men,  as  patriotic  men,  we 
can  bring  about  a  resumption  of  specie  payments  without  either 
national  dishonor  or  individual  bankruptcy.  (Applause.) 

Now,  Mr.  President,  the  Committee  propose  to  bring  about  this 
desirable  result  by  such  a  gradual  and  sensible  process,  commencing 
upon  a  definite  day,  giving  sufficient  notice  to  everybody,  that  it  may 
be  almost  as  silently  secured,  and  as  healthfully  prospered,  as  the 
dews  which  fall  upon  our  land  from  Heaven.  We  ask  that  there 
shall  be  no  shock  given  anywhere.  We  ask  that  we  shall  have 
sufficient  time  to  prepare  ourselves  for  the  process  of  resumption; 
and  that  when  it  has  once  been  begun,  it  shall  be  so  gradual  that  it 
will  not  affect  those  relations  upon  which  the  circulation  of  money  in 
the  community  depends,  nor  shock  any  of  the  great  interests  of  the 
country. 

I  believe,  Mr.  President,  and  gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  that 
the  passing  of  the  propositions  which  the  Committee  have  had  the 
honor  to  submit  to  you  will  immediately  have  a  beneficial  effect  upon 
the  premium  (as  it  is  termed)  on  gold,  and  upon  the  foreign  exchanges 
of  the  country,  by  inspiring  confidence  in  our  determination  to  ap 
proach  this  question  in  such  a  way  that  it  shall  be  settled  without,  as 
J  said  before,  any  shock  to  any  interest.  It  has  been  said  upon  this 


REDISTRIBUTION    OF    THE    CURRENCY.  201 

floor  that  it  is  not  the  resumption  of  specie  payments  that  we  want  so 
much  as  the  general  confidence  of  the  community  in  the  Government 
of  this  country  holding  faith  to  its  obligations,  and  the  sustaining  of 
the  Government,  in  holding  that  faith,  by  the  people  of  the  United 
States.  I  believe  that  a  majority  of  the  people  of  the  United  States 
are  in  favor  of  holding  the  faith  of  the  United  States  inviolate. 
(Applause.)  I  believe  that  there  is  not  a  man,  in  whose  bosom 
there  is  the  spirit  and  feeling  of  American  citizenship,  who,  if  this 
question  were  presented  to  him  fairly  and  squarely,  would  venture  to 
say  that  he  would  repudiate  this  debt. 

I  think  I  have  said  enough  to  convince  you,  gentlemen,  that  while 
we  may  not  all  agree  upon  all  the  details  of  this  first  resolution,  we 
will  agree  so  substantially  upon  them  that  we  can  come  together  and 
unite  in  the  passage  of  this  first  resolution  without  any  amendment. 
And  therefore  I  decline  to  accept  any  of  the  amendments  that  have 
been  offered  to  that  proposition.  (Applause.) 

Jn  regard  to  the  second  proposition,  that  our  national  honor  and 
good  faith  alike  require  that  we  should  abstain  from  enforcing  the 
right  which  some  insist  upon,  but  which  I  utterly  deny,  the  Committee 
have  spoken  cautiously  and  carefully  —  that  there  should  be  no  at 
tempt  on  the  part  of  the  Government  of  the  United  States  to  redeem 
any  part  of  the  five-twenty  bonds,  until  their  arrival  at  maturity  at  a 
period  of  twenty  years  from  their  date,  or  until  by  the  resumption  of 
specie  payments  they  can  be  paid  in  coin.  And  I  believe  upon  tliis 
point  I  shall  have  the  unanimous  support  of  this  Convention.  (Ap 
plause.) 

In  regard  to  the  third  and  fourth  propositions,  which  look  to  a 
redistribution  of  the  circulating  notes  of  the  national  banks,  I  believe 
that  if  the  gentlemen  of  this  Convention  will  carefully  consider  them 
in  all  their  details,  and  carefully  digest  all  the  propositions  that  they 
contain  —  as  carefully  as  I  have  done  myself— they  will  find  in 
them  a  fair  and  honorable  and  just  solution  of  this  question.  And  I 
here  take  occasion  to  say  that  I  am  not  entitled  to  any  credit  for 
originating  these  propositions,  but  that  they  have  come  open-handedly 
and  cheerfully,  as  we  have  received  everything  in  this  city,  from  the 
generous  hearts  of  the  people  of  Boston.  (Cheers.)  They  are  entitled 
to  the  credit  of  them ;  and  I  say  to  my  friends  from  the  West  that  1 
believe  they  are  calculated  to  satisfy  all  their  wants,  until  we  can  arrive 
at  that  other  stage  of  our  journey  which  is  presented  in  the  next 
proposition,  which  is  that  in  regard  to  the  free  national  banks.  I 
believe.  Mr.  President,  that  every  member  of  the  Convention,  without 
any  exception,  is  in  favor  of  abolishing  any  monopoly  in  banking. 

26 


202  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

(Applause.)  And  so  believing,  the  only  thing  that  remains  is  to 
determine  when  free  banking  can  be  safely  and  successfully  estab 
lished  in  the  United  States.  I  have  always  been  in  favor  of  a  free 
banking  law,  from  my  first  entrance  into  active  business  life.  I  have 
never  seen  any  occasion  to  change  that  opinion,  but  on  the  contrary 
it  has  strengthened  with  my  strength  and  my  conviction  has  increased 
with  my  age ;  and  I  say  here  to-day  that  for  a  great  manufacturing, 
commercial  and  agricultural  community,  free  banking  upon  proper 
principles  is  as  essential  to  their  welfare  as  the  circulation  of  the 
blood  is  to  the  human  body.  It  can  only,  in  my  judgment,  gentle 
men,  be  safely  and  successfully  established  when  every  note  issued 
by  a  free  bank  shall  be  redeemable  at  its  counter  or  at  some  place  in 
some  great  commercial  centre  appointed  for  its  redemption,  in  gold  or 
silver  coin.  And  with  these  remarks  I  shall  dismiss  that  part  of  the 
proposition,  and  say  that  as  Chairman  of  the  Committee  I  decline  any 
of  the  amendments  proposed  to  that  section. 

The  next  resolution  is  one  requesting  Congress  to  enact  a  law 
which  shall  authorize  the  making  of  contracts  payable  in  gold  and 
silver  coin,  and  securing  a  specific  performance  of  those  contracts.  I 
think  with  my  friend  from  Boston,  (Mr.  TOBEY,)  that  this  will  be  one 
of  the  most  successful  steps  for  bringing  us  practically  to  specie  pay 
ments,  and  bringing  us  to  such  specie  payments  by  a  route  that  will 
not  disturb  the  volume  of  paper  currency  by  any  process  that  some 
gentlemen  on  this  floor  have  expressed  their  fears  of.  If  contracts 
be  made  payable  in  gold  or  silver,  the  person  making  those  contracts 
takes  the  risk  of  the  prices  as  compared  with  the  currency  of  the  day, 
being  higher  than  it  was  when  he  made  his  contract,  and  he  hopes  for 
the  benefit  of  its  being  lower.  It  only  affects  the  commodity  with 
which  he  is  about  to  deal  in  making  a  purchase ;  but  as  that  is  his 
own  individual  affair,  the  currency  itself  will  have  nothing  to  do  with 
the  question,  but  it  will  be  simply  a  settlement  of  the  matter  between 
himself  and  his  debtor.  We  have  in  Philadelphia,  resting  upon  the 
honor  of  the  men  who  make  these  contracts,  most  extensive  trans 
actions  in  coffees  and  sugars  and  products  of  the  tropics ;  and  I  have- 
never  yet  heard,  although  such  contracts  are  at  present  unprotected 
by  law,  any  one  case  in  which  they  have  been  violated.  And  this 
speaks  volumes  for  the  commercial  honor  of  our  country.  We  have 
had  in  our  courts  in  Pennsylvania,  and  I  suppose  there  have  been 
elsewhere,  contracts,  contemplating  by  their  letter,  payment  in  gold 
and  silver  coin  of  the  United  States,  and  in  some  courts  and  in  some 
places  the  specific  performance  of  these  contracts  has  been  refused ; 
while  in  others,  where  the.  contracts  rested  not  upon  the  descriptive 


FKEEDOM    IX    THE    USE    OF    MONEY.  203 

dollar,  but  upon  a  given  number  of  penny  weights  and  grains  of  silver 
or  gold,  they  have  been  enforced  as  contracts  payable  in  commodi 
ties  ;  and  accordingly  those  who  have  had  the  wisdom  to  make  such 
contracts  in  ancient  times,  have  been  benelited  by  them  under  modern 
legal  decisions.  Now  if  we  have  a  law  of  the  United  States  upon 
this  subject,  they  can  be  enforced  everywhere ;  and  I  believe,  as  I 
said  at  the  outset  of  my  remarks  upon  this  particular  proposition, 
that  it  will  be  a  wise  thing  for  this  Convention  to  adopt  this  proposi 
tion  ;  that  it  will  be  beneficial  in  its  operation  in  putting  us  upon  the 
right  road  to  the  resumption  of  specie  payments,  and  steadily  keeping 
us  there.  And  upon  that  point  I  shall  not  say  any  more. 

The  remaining  point  is  that  in  regard  to  the  usury  laws.  This  is 
a  subject  which  has  been  so  thoroughly  ventilated  in  this  Common 
wealth,  and  which  has  been  so  carefully  considered  in  ancient  times 
by  LOCKE,  and  in  more  modern  times  by  BENTHAM,  and  indeed  by 
all  the  accepted  writers  upon  political  economy,  that  I  almost  hesitate 
to  say  a  word  to  a  Convention  of  business  men  upon  a  subject  which 
addresses  itself  so  familiarly  to  their  common  sense.  By  successive 
stages  almost  every  commercial  community  have  been  endeavoring  to 
rid  themselves  of  an  usury  law.  We  begin  by  raising  the  rate  of 
interest,  permitting  contracts  to  be  made  at  a  higher  rate  than  that 
which  prevailed  before  ;  and  finally,  we  all  land  by  coming  to  perfect 
freedom.  Such,  I  believe,  has  been  the  history  of  this  question  in 
every  commercial  country  that  has  acted  upon  it  in  an  intelligent 
way.  We  all  recollect  the  successive  stages  that  prevailed  in  Eng 
land,  by  trying  the  experiment  gradually,  first  upon  one  species  of 
contracts  and  then  upon  another,  exempting  some  contracts  from  the 
operation  of  the  law,  and  granting  it  to  others,  and  finally,  after  a 
most  thorough  investigation  of  the  whole  subject  by  a  Committee  of 
the  House  of  Commons,  the  law  was  made  general  in  its  application. 
The  report  of  this  Committee  has  been,  by  the  Philadelphia  Board 
of  Trade,  laid  before  the  commercial  bodies  of  the  nation,  and  they 
have  sent  it  to  the  Congress  of  the  United  States,  and  it  has  been 
favorably  considered  by  the  Committee  on  Commerce  of  the  United 
States.  We  ask  that  usury  laws  shall  be  abolished  everywhere 
within  the  United  States,  and  that,  where  no  contract  specifically 
to  the  contrary  exists,  seven  per  cent,  shall  be  the  uniform  rate  for 
money.  I  think  that  I  need  not  press  this  point  upon  your  attention, 
and  I  therefore  decline  to  accept  the  amendment  which  has  been 
offered  by  one  of  my  friends,  to  strike  out  that  proposition. 

There  remains  for  me,  gentlemen,  but  a  brief  duty  to   perform. 
I  accept  the  resolution  offered  by  Mr.  NAZRO.     I  accept  also  the 


204  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

amendment  in  the  shape  of  a  distinct  resolution,  which  was  offered 
by  the  gentleman  from  Toledo  (Mr.  DAVIS,)  in  regard  to  the  holding 
of  coin  by  the  banks. 

The  amendments  were  here  read. 

I  will  say  one  word  upon  the  propositions  which  I  have  thus  ac 
cepted.  Upon  the  first  one  I  hold  that  after  a  contract  or  a  bargain 
has  been  made,  it  should  be  specifically  provided  that  no  man  able 
and  willing  to  contract,  who  has  made  a  contract,  should  try  to  get 
away  from  that  bargain  by  any  device,  or  by  any  exercise  of  power. 
It  is  the  principle  upon  which  we  men  of  business  conduct  our  opera 
tions.  It  should  be  the  principle  of  Government  also.  In  regard  to 
the  other  proposition,  that  the  banks  should  be  prohibited  from  sell 
ing  their  coin,  we  owe  that  substantially,  also,  to  our  friends  from 
Boston.  When  it  was  presented  in  the  Committee,  I  feared  that  the 
public  would  not  understand  it;  that  they  would  regard  it  as  an 
attempt  to  hoard  the  specie  of  the  country.  But  I  think  that,  if  it 
be  endorsed  by  such  a  body  as  this,  they  will  speedily  come  to 
understand  it,  and  that,  when  they  come  to  understand  that  for  every 
dollar  the  banks  place  in  their  vaults  in  coin,  under  this  process, 
they  have  a  dollar  of  currency  to  liberate  for  it,  they  will  be  satisfied 
that  it  is  not  a  hoarding  of  specie.  It  tends,  also,  to  the  desirable 
result  of  strengthening  all  the  banks  in  a  reserve  that  is  universally 
acknowledged  as  the  ultimate  standard  for  the  redemption  of 
currency. 

I  have  now  said  all,  gentlemen,  specifically,  upon  these  proposi 
tions,  that  I  proposed  to  say.  I  have  for  a  tolerably  long  life  been 
engaged  with  business  men,  and  in  various  branches  of  the  business 
of  this  country.  I  can  scarcely  expect  ever  to  see  such  another 
Convention  together  as  this.  I  recognize  among  its  members  many 
whom  I  had  the  pleasure  of  meeting  two  years  ago  at  Detroit ;  and 
I  have  found  in  them,  in  their  individual  discussions  with  me,  upon 
the  problems  that  you  have  committed  to  my  charge,  such  a  disposi 
tion  to  be  frank  and  open  in  their  objections  to  what  has  been 
proposed  by  the  Committee,  and  to  be  so  wise  in  their  suggestions  as 
to  what  we  ought  to  do,  that  I  tender  to  them  my  grateful  thanks  for 
the  aid  and  assistance  they  have  given  me  in  coming  to  conclu 
sions  satisfactory  to  myself.  And  I  have  had  from  gentlemen  with 
whom  no  such  acquaintanceship  existed  before,  and  whose  acquaint 
ance-hip  and  frirnd>hi|>  I  hope  I  have  made  by  meeting  them  here 
now,  the  same  frank,  open  and  generous  disposition  to  submit  to  my 
judgment  their  views  upon  these  very  vital  and  important  questions 
that  we  are  now  about  to  settle  by  our  votes.  In  the  whole 


THE    FINANCE    RESOLUTIONS    AS    ADOPTED.        205 

course  of  my  life, — and  I  say  it  without  affectation, — I  have  never  seen 
together  a  body  of  gentlemen  in  whom  I  would  place  a  more  perfect 
reliance,  upon  all  the  questions  that  are  embraced  in  the  report  of 
this  Committee  ;  and  I  trust  that  there  may  be  such  an  unanimity  in 
the  adoption  of  this  report,  amended  as  I  propose  it  shall  be  amended, 
by  my  acceptance  of  the  two  propositions  to  which  I  have  referred, 
that  it  will  go  fortli  to  the  people  of  the  United  States  clothed  with 
such  an  endorsement  as  will  secure  its  adoption  ;  and  that  it  will 
work  for  the  healing  of  the  nation,  and  for  our  restoration  to  that 
condition  of  things  that  so  happily  existed  before  the  late  civil  war 
broke  out.  We  have  here  from  a  large  portion  of  the  country,  its 
commercial  representatives.  I  hope  that,  under  the  blessing  of 
Almighty  God,  before  another  National  Commercial  Convention  is 
assembled,  all  our  separated  brethren  will  be  brought  under  the 
common  flag  (applause,)  and  be  there  to  greet  us.  And  I  believe, 
gentlemen,  what  you  have  already  passed  upon, — passed  upon,  as  I 
understand,  with  great  unanimity, — will  be  as  beneficial  to  them 
as  I  believe  it  will  be  beneficial  to  us  ;  and  if  you  will  crown 
your  gifts  to  the  country  by  the  adoption  of  these  resolutions,  I 
believe  that  this  Commercial  Convention  will  have  settled  all  the 
agitated  questions  of  the  day  in  a  manner  that  will  reflect  honor  upon 
us,  and  be  a  means  of  prosperity  to  our  country.  (Continued  ap 
plause.) 

Mr.  President,  I  now  move  that  the  question  be  taken  upon 
each  of  the  propositions,  as  I  have  accepted  them,  without  further 
debate.  After  acting  upon  them  as  I  have  suggested,  if  any  of  the 
amendments  should  be  pressed,  of  course  the  question  will  be  taken 
upon  them  ;  but  I  feel  almost  inclined  to  ask  gentlemen  to  adopt  the 
report  as  I  have  presented  it,  with  the  amendments  accepted  by  me. 
I  now  move  the  previous  question. 

The  call  for  the  previous  question  was  sustained. 
The  adoption  of  the  report,  with  the  amendments  ac 
cepted  by  the  Chairman,  was  then  moved,  and  it  was 
carried,  with  but  few  dissenting  voices,  amid  great 
applause.  The  resolutions  adopted  are  as  follows  : 

Resolved,  That  as  the  existing  indebtedness  of  the  nation  and  of 
individuals,  and  the  exchangeable  values  of  all  property  have  been 
practically  adjusted  to  the  amount  of  currency  now  in  circulation, 
there  should  not  at  present  be  any  expansion  or  contraction  thereof, 
but  that  the  legal  tender  currency  should  be  gradually,  but  steadily, 


1>06  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

approximated  to  the  specie  standard,  by  the  funding  thereof,  on  and 
after  the  first  of  January,  1869,  in  amounts  not  exceeding  three  mil 
lions  of  dollars  per  month. 

Resolved,  That  the  national  honor  and  good  faith  alike  require  that 
the  Government  should  not  avail  itself  of  the  right  to  pay  off  the 
five-twenty  bonds  until  by  a  general  resumption  of  specie  payments, 
the  public  debt,  as  it  matures,  can  be  paid  in  specie  or  its  equiva 
lent. 

Mnolved,  That  the  inequality  in  the  distribution  of  the  national 
bank  currency  between  the  different  sections  of  the  country,  requires 
some  action  on  the  part  of  Congress. 

Resolved,  That,  to  this  end,  the  following  change  in  the  national 
banking  law  be  recommended  to  Congress  : 

That  any  persons,  proposing  to  form  a  new  bank,  may  present  to 
the  Comptroller  of  the  Currency  in  national  bank  bills,  of  any  banks 
having  a  circulation  of  more  than  sixty  per  cent,  of  the  capital  of 
such  bank,  the  amount  proposed  as  capital  of  the  new  bank,  which 
the  Comptroller  shall  redeem  in  greenbacks.  Thereupon  the  Comp 
troller  shall  cancel  such  bills  and  return  them  to  each  bank  of  issue 
for  redemption,  returning  to  such  bank  the  bonds  pledged  as  security, 
whenever  a  sufficient  amount  of  bills  shall  have  been  cancelled  to 
liberate  one  or  more  bonds.  And  that,  thereupon,  the  persons  pre 
senting  such  bank  bills  shall  be  entitled,  upon  lodging  bonds,  and 
otherwise  complying  with  the  provisions  of  the  law,  to  form  a  new 
bank,  and  receive  from  the  Comptroller  an  issue  of  currency  not 
exceeding  sixty  per  cent,  of  its  capital, 

Provided,  That  no  national  bank  currency  shall  be  issued  to  any 
new  bank  in  any  State  in  which  the  amount  of  national  bank  currency 
already  issued  to  the  banks  of  such  State  shall  bear  a  greater  propor 
tion  to  three  hundred  millions  of  dollars  than  the  representative  popu 
lation  of  such  State  shall  bear  to  the  representative  population  of  the 
country  ;  and, 

Provided,  further,  That  the  aggregate  amount  of  currency  issued 
to  the  national  banks  shall  in  no  case  exceed  three  hundred  millions 
of  dollars,  until  such  time  as  the  banks  shall  have  resumed  specie 
payments. 

Resolved,  That  a  system  of  free  national  banking  can  be  safely  al 
lowed  so  soon  as  bank  notes  are  payable  and  paid,  on  demand,  in 
coin,  and  not  before. 

Rnolved,  That  it  be  recommended  to  the  Congress  of  the  United 
States  to  enact  a  law  authorizing  contracts  to  be  made  in  writing, 
which  shall  be  payable  in  gold  or  silver  coin,  and  securing  the  specific 
performance  of  such  contracts. 


VOTE    OF    THANKS    TO    THE    PRESIDENT.  '207 

Resolved,  That  the  Congress  of  the  United  States  should  by  law 
supersede  the  usury  laws  of  the  several  States,  and  make  seven  per 
cent,  per  annum,  the  uniform  rate  of  interest,  when  no  contract  has 
been  made  for  any  other  rate,  and  authorizing  contracts  to  be  made 
in  writing  for  the  use  of  money  at  any  rate  of  interest  upon  which 
parties,  able  and  willing  to  contract  therefor,  may  agree. 

Resolved,  That  the  bonds  of  the  United  States  already  issued,  were 
exempted  by  law  from  taxation,  and  that  having  thus  been  issued,  it 
would  be  a  violation  of  the  law  of  contracts  to  impose  a  tax  upon 
them  now,  as  well  as  a  breach  of  faith  on  the  part  of  the  Govern 
ment. 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  recommend  to  Congress  to  provide 
by  law,  that  from  this  date  no  national  bank  shall  be  allowed  to  sell 
any  part  of  the  gold  received  from  the  Government  as  interest  upon 
the  bonds  pledged  for  its  circulation,  until  such  time  as  the  entire 
amount  of  the  reserve  required  by  law  to  be  kept  by  the  banks  shall 
be  made  up  of  coin. 

Mr.  NAZRO  :  I  have  but  one  word  to  say,  and  it  is  one  to  which 
I  know  you  will  respond.  Allow  me  to  offer  the  following : 

Resolved,  That  the  thanks  of  the  Convention  be  and  they  are  hereby 
presented  to  the  Hon.  E.  W.  Fox,  for  the  able,  dignified  and  impartial 
manner  in  which  he  has  performed  the  duties  of  President  of  the 
Convention. 

Mr.  MERRICK,  of  Philadelphia,  put  the  motion,  and 
it  was  carried  unanimously. 

Mr.  BllLnsrOT  :  I  desire  to  meet  one  point  which  was  made  in 
the  address  of  the  Chairman  of  the  Finance  Committee,  by  the  follow 
ing  resolution  : 

Resolved,  That  this  Convention  reaffirm  unanimously  our  adherence 
to  the  principles  of  national  honor  and  good  faith,  as  indicated  in  the 
second  resolution  of  the  report  just  adopted. 

The  resolution  was  adopted  unanimously. 

Mr.  COVINGTON,  of  Cincinnati  :  It  will  be  remembered 
that  yesterday,  the  Committee  on  Transportation  offered  a  resolution 
in  relation  to'the  Hoosac  Tunnel,  which  the  Committee  and  the  Con 
vention  understood  as  being  complimentary  to  the  City  of  Boston  and 


208  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

to  the  State  of  Massachusetts,  and  it  was  supposed  that  it  would  be 
adopted  unanimously ;  but  after  the  remarks  made  at  the  time  of  its 
presentation,  the  Convention,  in  the  same  spirit,  voted  to  strike  it  out 
of  the  report.  I  think  that,  in  our  desire  to  be  complimentary  to 
this  city  and  to  the  State,  we  have  made  a  slight  mistake ;  and  I  pro 
pose  to  remedy  it  by  offering  a  resolution  which  I  hold  in  my  hand, 
and  which  I  think  will  not  give  offence  to  a  solitary  man  in  this  grand 
old  Commonwealth.  I  desire  to  say,  in  behalf  of  my  delegation  and 
of  myself,  (although  I  have  not  consulted  with  my  colleagues  upon 
the  subject,)  and  I  believe  I  may  say,  in  behalf  of  the  Convention, 
also,  that  the  hospitalities  we  have  received  here  deserve  such  an 
acknowledgment. 

You  will  remember,  that  at  the  banquet  at  the  Music  Hall,  the 
Governor  referred  to  certain  exports  of  the  State  of  Massachusetts, — 
ice  and  granite.  As  a  Western  man,  and  as  one  who  feels  for  the 
West,  I  beg  to  say,  that  neither  granite  nor  ice,  nor  granite  and  ice, 
are  all  of  Massachusetts.  She  has  a  heart,  which  is  both  genial  and 
generous.  (Loud  applause.)  I  ask  the  unanimous  adoption  of  the 
following  resolution : 

Resolved,  That  the  policy  of  Massachusetts  with  respect  to  the 
means  of  transportation  within  her  borders,  initiated  early  by  her  aid 
to  the  Western  Railroad,  and  continued  by  her  more  recent  grants  to 
the  Hoosac  Tunnel  and  Boston,  Hartford  and  Erie  lines,  challenges 
our  admiration  as  broad,  liberal  and  sagacious. 

Mr.  HOLTON  :  I  second  that  resolution,  as  Chairman  of  the 
Committee  on  Transportation  ;  their  views  will  be  carried  out  by  its 
passage. 

The  resolution  was  adopted. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  WALBRIDGE,  it  was 

Voted,  That  the  Officers  of  the  Convention  be  authorized  to  memori 
alize  Congress  upon  the  various  questions  embraced  in  its  proceedings. 
That  the  Convention  adjourn  sine  die,  after  the  closing  address  of 
the  President. 

The  PRESIDENT  :  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention :  The  hour  of 
our  separation  as  a  deliberative  body  of  business  men  is  now  at  hand  ; 
but  the  associations  which  will  cluster  around  the  deliberation  of  the 
momentous  questions  which  you  have  had  under  consideration,  may 
be  of  lasting  benefit.  You  have  been  engaged  in  the  discharge  of  a 


THE    PRESIDENT'S    CLOSING    ADDRESS.  209 

voluntary  and  a  patriotic  duty,  and  although  not  intrusted  with  the 
power  of  making  laws,  you  have  been  charged  with  the  higher  mission 
of  moulding  by  just  and  wise  resolves  a  policy,  and  of  creating  and 
consolidating  an  intelligent  public  opinion  upon  questions  vital  to  the 
material  prosperity  of  our  whole  country  ;  and  I  cannot  find  it  in  my 
heart  to  allow  this  occasion  to  pass  without  congratulating  each  mem 
ber  of  the  Convention  upon  the  auspicious  manner  in  which  your 
labors  were  begun,  upon  the  practical  wisdom  with  which  they  have 
been  marked,  and  upon  the  advancement  made  toward  the  solution  of 
the  all-important  business  questions  of  the  hour. 

You  have  advanced  a  broad  stride  in  the  science  of  commerce  by 
laying  firmly  the  foundations  of  a  policy  destined  to  unite  and  repre 
sent  the  material  interests  of  the  nation  in  a  Business  Congress,  to  be 
known  as  the  National  Board  of  Trade. 

The  policy  foreshadowed  in  the  call  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade 
has  been  most  wisely  adopted  by  this  Convention  as  a  necessary  ad 
junct  to  the  protection  and  advancement  of  those  industrial  pursuits 
which  constitute  the  true  elements  of  our  prosperity  as  a  people,  and 
are  the  safest  anchorage  of  security  in  war  as  well  as  the  proudest 
evidences  of  aggrandizement  in  peace. 

Our  work  should  not  cease  with  our  deliberations  here,  but  I  con 
ceive  it  to  be  the  duty  and  the  interest  of  every  one  to  labor  unceas 
ingly  in  the  sphere  of  his  business  influence  to  carry  on  to  practical 
and  triumphant  results  the  line  of  policy  here  matured  and  adopted. 
The  work  to  be  done  and  the  labor  to  be  performed  is  made  attractive 
and  pleasing  by  the  new  associations  begotten  in  our  intercourse  here, 
and  which  may  hereafter  be  formed  by  the  business  men  of  the 
various  sections  of  the  Union  ;  associations  which  we  may  fondly 
trust  will  ripen  into  enlarged  views  and  bind  us  together  in  lasting 
friendship. 

Let  each  member  pledge  to  this  Convention,  to  his  associates  and 
to  himself,  that  he  will  labor  to  sustain  and  dignify  agricultural  pur 
suits,  to  maintain  and  enlarge  our  manufacturing  interests,  and  to 
develop  and  extend  our  commerce  over  river,  lake  and  sea,  until  our 
white  sails  shadowing  every  wave,  shall  be  at  once  our  wealth  and 
our  defence ;  and  let  us,  too,  with  one  voice,  demand  national  aid  for 
the  completion  of  at  least  two  great  continental  railways  from  ocean 
to  ocean,  thereby  creating  competition,  which  will  cheapen  trans 
portation. 

In  pushing  on  in  blended  harmony  these  exalted  interests  we  shall 
present  to  the  world  the  spectacle,  that  in  peace  or  war,  we  are  indeed 
a  nation.  Thus  we  may  make  evident  to  mankind  and  urge  to  their 

"27 


COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

final  acceptance  and  belief,  the  fact  that  we  have  solved  the  problem ; 
that  we  have  achieved  the  high  destinies  to  which  we  are  called ; 
and  that  America,  great  in  art,  in  agriculture,  in  commerce  and  in 
arms,  shall  be  forevermore  prosperous  in  peace  and  victorious  in 
war. 

In  conclusion,  gentlemen,  I  am  charged  by  the  unanimous  voice  of 
the  delegations  representing  the  Union  Merchants'  Exchange,  the 
Board  of  Trade,  and  I  may  with  confidence  add  the  entire  people  of 
St.  Louis,  to  extend  to  you  their  hospitalities,  with  the  request  that 
their  city  be  selected  as  the  place  of  your  next  assembling  as  a 
Convention. 

My  personal  thanks  are  due  and  I  hereby  tender  them  to  each 
member  of  this  body,  to  the  officers  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade, 
and  to  the  several  gentlemen  of  the  various  committees  of  arrange 
ments,  representing  every  branch  of  the  government  and  every  class 
of  the  people  of  this  most  hospitable  of  cities,  for  the  generous  support 
I  have  on  all  sides  received  while  discharging  the  duties  of  the  office 
you  have  done  me  the  honor  to  confer  upon  me. 

Wishing  each  of  you  a  safe  return  to  your  homes,  and  earnestly 
desiring  that  prosperity  may  ever  attend  upon  you,  I  have  to 
announce  that  this  Convention  is  now  adjourned. 

Mr.  HILL,  of  Boston,  one  of  the  Secretaries  of  the 
Convention,  was  loudly  called  for,  and  said  — 

GENTLEMEN,  —  I  beg  to  return  you  my  sincere  thanks  for  the 
compliment  you  have  paid  me. 

On  motion  of  Mr.  NAZRO,  leave  was  given  to  the 
Boston  Board  of  Trade  to  append  the  names  of  the 
officers  of  the  Convention  to  the  memorial  to  be  sent 
by  them  to  Congress. 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  called  for  three  rousing  cheers  for 
the  Boston  Board  of  Trade,  and  for  the  City  of 
Boston,  and  they  were  heartily  given.  Cheers  were 
also  given  for  the  West,  and  for  the  Middle  States; 
and  the  Convention  was  dissolved. 


APPENDIX. 


BANQUET  AT  THE  MUSIC  HALL. 


ON  Thursday  evening,  the  sixth  of  February,  the  members  of  the 
Convention,  by  invitation  of  the  municipal  authorities  of  the  City  of 
Boston,*  attended  a  banquet  given  in  their  honor,  at  the  Music 
Hall.  The  Hall  was  decorated  with  flags,  evergreens  and  flowers, 
and  appropriate  mottoes  were  suspended  in  front  of  the  galleries. 
At  the  centre  of  the  upper  gallery,  facing  the  organ,  an  arch  was 
placed,  composed  of  national  banners,  and  having  in  its  centre  the 
arms  of  the  City  of  Boston.  Inscribed  on  the  arch  were  the  words  — 

NATIONAL  COMMERCIAL  CONVENTION. 
WELCOME. 

The  galleries  were  filled  with  ladies  in  evening  costume. 

About  six  hundred  tickets  were  issued,  and  the  guests  assembled, 
at  half-past  five,  in  Bumstead  Hall,  where  an  hour  was  spent  in  con 
versation,  after  which,  the  company  proceeded  to  the  large  Hall, 
where  they  were  greeted  with  music  from  GILMORE'S  full  Band, 
stationed  in  the  balcony. 

Dr.  SHURTLEFF,  the  Mayor  of  Boston,  presided,  and  occupied  the 
central  seat  on  the  platform.  At  the  same  table  were  seated  the 
Governor  of  the  Commonwealth,  the  President  of  the  Senate,  the 
Speaker  of  the  House,  the  President  and  Vice-Presidents  of  the  Con 
vention,  the  President  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade,  and  other 
gentlemen. 

The  company  having  taken  their  places  at  the  tables,  His  Honor 

the  Mayor,  said  — 

GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CITY  COUNCIL:  — In  your  name,  and  on 
your  behalf;  I  cordially  welcome  these  your  guests  to  the  hospitalities 
of  the  city  ;  and  I  know  that  I  fully  represent  your  sentiments,  when 


*  The  Committee  of  Arrangements  of  the  City  Council,  consisted  of  Messrs. 
GEORGE  W.  MESSINGER,  SAMUEL  C.  Coin?,  and  JOSEPH  F.  PAUL,  of  the  Board 
of  Aldermen,  and  Messrs.  Cn.vm.E9  IT.  ALLEN,  CHARLES  E.  TRAIN,  FRAN-  ks  A. 
OSBORN  GEORGE  P.  DENNY,  WILLIAM  M.  FLANDERS,  and  HORACE  II.  WHITE, 


of  the  Common  Council. 


214  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

I  assure  them  that  it  is  with  feelings  of  the  deepest  interest  in  the 
objects  that  have  brought  to  this  our  city  so  many  gentlemen  as  are 
here  present  this  evening,  from  so  great  distances,  over  so  many  miles 
of  weary  travel,  and  in  such  an  inclement  season  of  the  year,  that  the 
citizens  of  Boston,  through  you,  their  municipal  authorities,  extend  to 
them  their  courtesies  and  friendly  greetings. 

Gentlemen  of  the  Convention :  —  We  are  all  heartily  glad  to  have 
you  with  us  on  this  occasion. 

The  Divine  blessing  was  invoked  by  the  Rev.  GEORGE  W. 
BLAGDEN,  D.  D.,  at  the  conclusion  of  which,  the  company  were 
invited  to  be  seated  and  to  pay  their  respects  to  the  good  things 
which  had  been  provided  for  their  refreshment. 

After  the  lapse  of  about  two  hours,  the  party  was  called  to  order, 
and  the  Mayor  spoke  as  follows : — 

GENTLEMEN  :  The  occasion  which  has  called  us  to  the  festal  board 
this  evening  is  one  that,  it  is  hoped,  will  result  in  the  mutual  benefit 
of  us  all.  We  are  here  together,  assembled  in  sociality,  from  all  parts 
of  our  common  country,  to  testify  our  interest  in  those  institutions 
which  have  for  their  primary  objects  the  encouragement  and  exten 
sion  of  trade  ;  and,  surely,  nothing  should  awaken  within  us  a  stronger 
sentiment  than  that  which  can  arouse  the  dormant  energies  of  a  great 
nation,  and  bind  into  one  firm  bond  of  union  the  great  commercial 
cities  of  the  land. 

Our  beloved  country  is  just  recovering  from  one  of  the  greatest 
shocks  with  which  it  has  ever  pleased  the  heavenly  providence  to 
visit  any  portion  of  mankind ;  and  the  resources  which  have  been 
developed,  and  the  energies  that  have  been  displayed  in  our  days  of 
suffering,  have  demonstrated  to  ourselves,  as  well  as  to  all  the  nations 
of  the  earth,  the  true  value  that  can  be  deduced  from  the  cultivation 
of  the  liberal  arts  by  men,  unshackled  and  untrammeled  by  any 
adverse  power,  and  guided  and  controlled  by  none  other  than  that 
which  can  unite  together  the  good,  the  great,  the  talented  and  the 
brave,  in  one  common  cause  lor  right  and  humanity.  Fortunately 
we  have  emerged  from  this  greatest  of  struggles  without  the  loss  of 
national  credit ;  and  we  stand  this  day  with  a  faith  unbroken,  and  a 
hope  of  future  prosperity  undying. 

To  those  gentlemen  who  are  with  us  for  the  first  time  it  may  be 
necessary  to  state  that  Boston  has  from  time  immemorial  been  noted 
for  its  peculiar  idiosyncracies ;  and  that  it  has  been  known  the  world 
over,  from  its  earliest  days  to  the  present  time,  as  the  place  of  notions. 


BANQUET  AT  MUSIC  HALL.          215 

But  we  trust,  gentlemen,  that  during  your  short  stay  with  us  now,  you 
will  find  these  peculiarities  to  be  of  such  a  character  as  to  interest 
you  iu  becoming  more  intimately  acquainted  with  them,  and  also  with 
our  people.  For  I  assure  you,  whatever  you  may  have  heard  or  read 
to  the  contrary,  that  none  of  the  famous  blue  laws,  imported  from  our 
mother  land  by  a  neighboring  colony,  ever  gained  any  supremacy 
over  our  respectable  progenitors,  or  ever  had  any  influence  here. 
Our  ancestors  came  to  this  country  to  enjoy  their  liberties  unmolested 
and  uncontrolled ;  and  you  may  be  certain  that  if  our  statute  books 
have  been  stained  with  foolish  and  oppressive  whims,  these  are  fast 
disappearing  from  our  records  ;  forever,  it  is  hoped,  to  be  wiped  even 
from  our  memories. 

From  the  first  settlement  of  our  town  —  and  we  date  back  more 
than  two  and  a  third  centuries,  with  a  good  claim  of  being  the  oldest 
maritime  place  of  this  country  —  our  people  have  ever  been  given  to 
the  industrial  arts,  and  have  been  noted  for  their  commercial  enter 
prise.  Long  before  the  other  great  cities  of  our  Union  were  started 
into  substantial  existence,  the  small  peninsula  of  Boston  was  eminently 
distinguished  for  its  trade  and  widely  extended  navigation.  As  early 
as  the  year  1031,  the  then  Governor  of  the  colony  had  built  the  first 
Anglo-American  vessel  and  launched  it  upon  the  water*  of  our  neigh 
boring  Mystic;  and  the  gallant  little  "Blessing  of  the  Bay"  had 
proudly  sailed  from  our  island  studded  harbor,  the  pride  of  New 
England,  and  the  fair  rival  of  transatlantic  craft.  Two  hundred  years 
ago  scarcely  a  bay  could  be  entered  where  could  not  be  found  our 
fishermen  ;  and  never  a  seacoast  without  seeing  our  snows,  our  pinks, 
our  schooners,  or  our  pinnaces.  Our  forefathers  were  as  well  ac 
quainted  with  all  the  seas  and  the  pathless  oceans  as  now  are  the 
sturdy  seafaring  men  of  our  population  of  nearly  a  quarter  of  a 
million  of  souis. 

Years  before  our  trimountain  hills  and  overflowing  springs  of  living 
water  had  given  their  hospitality  to  our  fathers,  the  pilgrim  puritans 
of  the  Plymouth  colony  had  established  fisheries  at  the  mouth  of  our 
harbor,  availing  themselves  of  our  excellent  fishing-grounds.  But,  I 
must  not,  gentlemen,  carry  you  back  so  far  as  to  make  you  think  that 
we  are  a  people  of  a  past  generation.  I  have  been  led  to  make  these 
remarks  simply  to  let  you  know  that  you  are  not  among  persons  who 
look  upon  your  calling  as  that  of  strangers  ;  but  that  you  are  with 
those  who  naturally  feel  with  you  a  deep  interest  in  the  business  rela 
tions  of  the  different  sections  of  our  country ;  and  from  whom  you 
may  expect  a  hearty  cooperation  in  all  practicable  efforts  that  may  be 
needful  for  promoting  the  special  objects  of  your  present  Convention. 


210  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

It  is  not  for  me  to  relate  to  you  what  our  peculiar  advantages  are 
for  commercial  and  trading  purposes,  nor  what  our  enterprising  mer 
chants,  manufacturers  and  mechanics,  with  the  assistance  of  our 
wealthy  capitalists,  propose  for  increasing  our  accommodations  and 
facilities  for  business.  These  matters  are  more  properly  subjects  for 
your  own  meetings,  during  your  hours  of  consultation  and  delibera 
tion.  Now,  it  is  far  more  appropriate  for  me  to  draw  you  from  the 
staid  and  sober  thoughts  which  have  bound  you  so  closely  at  your 
business  gatherings ;  and  to  win  you,  for  a  short  time,  to  the  pleas 
ures  of  social  intercourse  with  some  of  our  Boston  people.  I 
cannot,  even  if  I  would,  and  if  time  should  permit,  specially  entertain 
you  with  any  words  of  my  own ;  but  I  have  in  you,  and  in  some  of 
your  friends  who  so  gladly  welcome  you  here  this  evening,  a  suffi 
ciency  of  that  versatility  of  talent  that  can  beguile  you  from  your 
every  day  cares,  and,  I  hope,  by  adding  information  to  pleasantry, 
make  our  social  hour  one  of  instruction  and  benefit. 

MR.  CHARLES  II.  ALLEN,  President  of  the  Common  Council,  was 
introduced  as  the  toast-master  of  the  evening. 

Mr.  ALLEN  announced,  as  the  first  regular  toast, — 
The  President  of  the  United  States. 

The  band  played  "  Hail  to  the  Chief,"  and  the  Hon.  THOMAS 
RUSSELL,  Collector  of  the  Port  of  Boston,  was  called  upon  to 
respond, 

Judge  RUSSELL:  Mr.  Mayor,  and  Fellow-Citizens:  If  the  Presi 
dent  of  the  United  States  were  here,  I  am  sure  that  he  would  feel 
new  pride  in  his  position  as  head  of  the  nation  which  is  represented 
to-night  by  so  much  of  business  energy,  and  dignity,  and  talent,  and 
wealth,  and  success,  as  are  represented  by  the  Convention  who  are 
present  as  guests  of  the  City  of  Boston.  I  am  glad  that  they  have 
come  back  here  to  New  England.  They  have  come  back,  I  say. 
They  went  to  the  West  to  build  broader,  and  fairer,  and  richer 
New  Englands  than  we  have  here  at  home,  but  they  have  come  back 
to  find  that  there  are  enough x of  us  to  keep  the  old  homestead  in 
repair,  to  keep  a  little  fire  burning  on  the  old  hearthstone,  and  to  give 
a  cordial  welcome  to  our  friends  from  the  lakes,  the  rivers  and  the 
sea,  from  the  West  and  the  Northwest,  and,  thank  Heaven,  we 
may  add,  from  the  South  also,  as  they  come  home  to  us.  (Loud 
applause.) 

Mr.  Mayor,  they  have  heard  all  sorts  of  stories  about  Boston,  but 
you  took  them  out  yesterday  on  the  Brighton  road,  and  you  showed 
them  one  thing,  at  least,  that  Boston  was  not  a  **  one  horse  town." 


BAXQUET  AT  MUSIC  HALL.          217 

(Laughter.)  They  tell  me  that  when  they  went  around  there  they 
thought  they  saw  what  they  heard  of  some  years  ago, — "  New  Eng 
land  left  out  in  the  cold."  (Laughter  and  applause.)  Ah,  you  and 
I  never  feared  that,  If  New  England  were  false  to  the  traditions  of 
the  fathers, — if  she  forgot  the  principles  of  her  ancestors, — she  might 
be  "left  out  in  the  cold;"  but  never,  never  while  the  fire  of  faith 
burns  in  her  heart,  and  the  warm  blood  of  loyalty  boils  in  all  her 
veins.  (Loud  and  prolonged  applause.) 

You  come  home  when  you  come  to  New  England,  and  with  all  our 
hearts,  and  with  all  our  love,  we  bid  you  welcome  to  the  metropolis 
of  New  England.  (Applause.)  And  now  I  do  not  mean  to  say  one 
other  word  except  just  this  :  You  call  upon  me  to  respond  for  the 
President  of  the  United  States.  When  the  President  of  the  United 
States  speaks,  there  are  a  great  many  things  that  he  has  not  time  to 
say.  You  must  take  all  those  things  for  granted.  (Loud  laughter  and 
applause.) 

Second  regular  toast, — 

The  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts :  Always  ready  to  extend  a 
cordial  greeting  to  the  representatives  of  the  industry  and  enterprise 
of  the  other  States,  and  afford  aid  and  encouragement  to  whatever 
serves  to  enlarge  and  bind  together  the  national  interests. 

Three  cheers  were  given  for  the  "  old  Commonwealth  of  Massa 
chusetts,"  the  band  playing,  "  Should  Auld  Acquaintance  Be 
Forgot." 

The  MAYOR  :  I  am  happy  to  announce  that  Governor  BULLOCK 
is  here  (applause,)  but  perhaps  you  may  not  be  happy  to  hear  me 
say  that  he  is  quite  unwell.  I  have,  therefore,  taken  him  under  my 
professional  care,  and  have  prescribed  a  short  speech  ;  but  I  rather 
think  that  if  he  will  show  himself,  and  say  a  few  words,  you  will  be 
satisfied  we  have  a  live  Governor. 

The  GOVERNOR  :  Mr.  Mayor,  you  have  done  me  an  act  of 
genuine  kindness  in  taking  me  under  your  professional,  rather  than 
your  political  and  official  orders ;  but  I  trust,  sir,  that  no  other  gen 
tleman  present  will  find  any  preference  in  that  direction.  I  will 
trespass,  however,  upon  the  weakness  to  which  you  have  alluded, 
sufficiently  to  thank  yon,  and  those  who  are  associated  with  you  in 
the  government  of  the  City  of  Boston,  for  this  opportunity  to  partake 
of  your  hospitality,  in  the  presence  of  this  company  of  guests,  who 
represent  many  cities  and  many  States,  and  who  are  here  to  promote 
the  prosperity  and  the  general  welfare  of  the  whole  country. 
(Cheers.) 

28 


L!  1  s  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

I  will  not  abuse  this  courtesy,  on  my  account  as  well  as  yours,  by 
much  speaking  ;  but,  sir,  I  will  avail  myself  of  the  privilege  of  the 
official  relation  which  you  have  invited  me  to  impersonate,  sufficiently 
to  extend  in  behalf  of  the  Commonwealth  a  warm  greeting  from  the 
heart  to  these  our  friends  who  are  visiting  us  from  abroad.  (Cheers.) 
From  whatsoever  State  they  come,  and  from  whichsoever  side  of  the 
mountain  ranges  which  have  been  ineffectual, — and  ever  shall  be 
ineffectual, — to  divide  us  ;  whether  from  the  capital  city  of  the  father 
of  waters,  or  the  emporium  of  the  lakes  so  fitly  representing  the 
majesty  of  the  forces  of  commerce  and  the  mechanic  arts,  or  from  the 
queen  City  of  Ohio,  the  Boston  of  the  West,  (applause,)  or  from  the 
commercial  metropolis  nearer  to  us,  which  already  casts  every  city  of 
this  continent,  and  which  will  eventually  cast  every  city  on  the  globe, 
into  the  shade  (continued  cheers)  —  whencesoever  they  corne,  in 
behalf  of  the  whole  people  of  Massachusetts,  I  cordially  extend  to 
them,  one  and  all,  the  open  and  the  warm  hand  of  a  New  England 
greeting.  (Great  enthusiasm.) 

Gentlemen,  you  are  visiting  us  at  a  season  when  of  our  two  pro 
verbial  staples  of  export,  the  one  is  quite  obscured  by  the  other, — 
the  ice  being  a  little  too  much  for  the  granite.  (Laughter  and 
cheers.)  But  let  me  tell  you,  that  neither  the  snow  nor  the  ice  can 
either  chill  or  obscure  the  activity,  the  elasticity,  the  exhilaration  of 
the  intense  and  warm-hearted  Commonwealth  which  greets  you 
to-night,  as  fellow  citizens  and  brothers,  in  the  cause  of  industry, 
which  is  the  cause  of  all.  (Loud  cheers,  and  shouts  of  "  Bravo.") 
We  have  sometimes  been  called  a  little  provincial ;  but  I  believe  that 
in  the  modern  vocabulary,  provincialism  is  only  another  word  for 
individuality  ;  and  if  we  are  to  apologize  for  our  individuality,  that 
enforces  the  necessity  of  apologizing,  also,  for  our  history,  which,  as 
citizen  and  magistrate,  I  say,  God  forbid.  (Applause.)  1  feel  quite 
sure,  gentlemen,  from  what  passes  before  me,  that  a  very  large  por 
tion  of  your  number  bear  in  your  cheeks  the  blood  of  New  England 
(voice — "  That  is  so  "  ;)  and  it  follows  as  a  matter  of  course  that  a 
plurality  of  your  number  are  by  some  kind  of  descent,  either  lineal  or 
lateral  or  marital,  kith  and  kin  of  this  Commonwealth  of  Massachu 
setts.  I  doubt  if  there  be  a  president  of  a  Board  of  Trade  from 
Portland  to  San  Francisco  who  is  not  either  a  third  or  a  fourth 
cousin  of  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  Boston.  And  I 
ought  here  to  remark,  that  I  regard  that  as  the  highest  office  in  this 
country.  (Applause.)  Mr.  WEHSTER  used  to  tell  a  story  of  a 
prominent  citizen  of  this  city  who  was  in  the  habit  of  saying  that,  in 
hi*  opinion,  Massachusetts  ought  to  give  laws  to  the  whole  country  ; 


BANQUET    AT    MUSIC    HALL.  219 

that  Boston  ought  to  give  laws  to  Massachusetts  ;  and  that  for  his 
own  part,  he  would  be  entirely  content  to  govern  Boston.  (Laughter 
and  applause.)  The  hero  of  that  story  I  understand  to  be  the 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  Boston.  (Cheers.) 

Gentlemen,  I  wish  you  success  in  the  deliberations  of  your  Con 
vention.  I  notice  by  the  newspapers,  that  you  have  laid  out  consid 
erable  work.  I  trust  it  may  keep  you  here  many  days  ;  and  during 
that  period,  I  commend  you  to  the  hospitality  of  His  Honor  the 
Mayor,  and  the  authorities  of  this  excellent  city.  ("Bravo,"  and 
cheers.)  After  which,  gentlemen,  I  wish  you  a  safe  and  happy 
return  to  your  homes.  (Prolonged  applause.) 

The  third  regular  toast  was  then  read, — 

The  National  Commercial  Convention  :  A  working  congress  of 
business  men,  in  which  measures  may  be  discussed  by  those  who  are 
most  nearly  interested  in  benefiting  alike  the  legislation  and  the 
business  of  the  country. 

The  MAYOR  :  Gentlemen,  I  will  now  introduce  to  you  Mr.  E.  W. 
Fox,  of  St.  Louis,  the  President  of  the  National  Commercial  Con 
vention,  now  met  in  council  in  the  City  of  Boston. 

Mr.  Fox  :  Mr.  Mayor :  In  calling  upon  me  to  respond  to  the 
toast  in  honor  of  the  Convention,  you  have  imposed  at  once  a  difficult 
and  a  pleasing  task  ;  difficult,  because  I  can  scarce  find  words  to  express 
the  appreciation  of  the  generous  hospitality  of  the  people  of  Boston, 
felt  in  common  by  each  and  every  member  of  the  Convention.  (Ap 
plause.)  The  frosts  of  your  New  England  winter  may  chill  the 
body,  but  the  merry  jingle  of  your  sleighing  bells  have  welcomed  us 
in  chimes  of  beautiful  symphony,  while  your  wives  and  daughters 
have  greeted  us  with  smiles  from  balcony  and  portal,  and  the  princely 
munificence  of  your  social  cheer  warms  and  gladdens  our  hearts. 
(Applause  and  laughter.) 

Nor  alone  in  social  intercourse  have  you  become  endeared  to  us, 
but  the  far-sighted  commercial  enterprise  of  your  business  men  has 
resulted  in  a  Convention,  destined,  I  believe,  to  exert  an  influence  of 
permanent  good  in  uniting  and  linking  together  those  agricultural, 
manufacturing,  and  commercial  interests,  which  underlie  our  pros 
perity  as  a  nation,  and  are  the  safest  and  surest  guaranties  of  national 
permanence  and  peace.  (Renewed  applause.)  I  mention  agri 
culture  first,  because,  upon  the  producing  element  all  other  business 
and  industrial  interests  depend.  The  West  and  the  South  produce, 
their  rich  fields  yielding  their  wealth  of  cotton,  grain  and  tobacco, 
while  the  Eastern  and  Middle  States  manufacture  and  export ;  and 


220  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

thus  bound  together,  each  dependent  on  the  other,  the  various  indus 
tries  lead  on  to  national  wealth  and  aggrandizement,  with  a  rapidity 
without  a  parallel  anywhere  in  history.  To  modify,  to  change  and 
assimilate  our  commerce,  to  meet  the  exigencies  of  a  new  order  of 
things,  growing  out  of  the  present  financial  condition  of  the  country, 
and  to  urge  our  national  Congress  to  such  legislation  as  shall  best 
promote  all  the  interests  of  our  foreign  and  internal  trade  and  navi 
gation,  and  to  such  action  as  shall  give  a  healthful  tone  to  our  cur 
rency, — these  are  the  duties  of  the  Convention  now  in  council  in  your 
city.  If  the  deliberations  of  that  Convention  are  commensurate  in 
wisdom  to  the  importance  of  the  subjects  under  discussion,  a  great 
and  a  lasting  good  may  be  attained. 

Jt  is  meet  and  proper  that  such  a  Convention,  with  such  aims  and 
purposes  in  view,  should  be  held  in  the  solid  City  of  Boston,  because 
solid  and  practical  results  are  designed  to  be  accomplished.  We  have 
come  to  you  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  representing  diversified 
and  varied  branches  of  trade,  and  you  have  given  us  each  the  warm 
hand  of  honest  welcome.  We  are  not  insensible  to  your  kindness, 
and  we  shall  ever  cherish  a  fond  and  abiding  recollection  of  our 
reception  and  entertainment  by  you. 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Mayor,  allow  me  to  catch  the  glorious  sentiments 
that  surround  this  hall,  so  beautifully  entwined  with  the  flag  of  our 
country,  and  invoke  with  them  the  blessings  of  Heaven  —  Plenty, 
Union,  Liberty  and  Peace  —  upon  the  good  people  of  Boston  and 
of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.  (Loud  and  continued  ap 
plause.) 

The  fourth  regular  toast  was  as  follows, — 

The  City  of  New  York :  The  commercial  metropolis — the  whole 
country  rejoices  in  her  prosperity  as  an  element  of  our  national 
greatness. 

The  MAYOR  : — Gentlemen,  you  will  now  listen  to  the  Hon.  HIRAM 
WALBRIDGE,  of  New  York  : — 

Mr.  WALBRIDGE  :  Mr.  Mayor  and  Gentlemen  :  As  I  stand  in  this 
"  Modern  Athens,"  in  this  majestic  temple,  and  witness  this  Corinthian 
order  and  these  Ionic  columns,  I  am  insensibly  borne  back  through  the 
sea  of  human  endeavor  over  three  thousand  years,  when  the  men  of 
that  early  Athens  were  wont  to  assemble,  in  the  presence  of  fair 
women,  to  commemorate  some  illustrious  victory  of  war.  We  are  met 
to  commemorate  that  other  sentiment  which  proclaims  that  "peace  hath 
its  victories  no  less  renowned  than  those  of  war."  From  the  "  Father 
of  Waters,"  and  from  the  great  metropolis  of  this  country,  we  have  come 


BANQUET  AT  MUSIC  HALL.          221 

to  New  England,  and  we  say  that  New  England  must  remain  a  part 
of  the  United  States,  and  that  if  any  attempt  shall  ever  be  made  to 
sever  that  connection  by  foreign  or  domestic  foe,  it  can  only  be  done 
when  that  foe  shall  have  trodden  over  our  graves. 

In  behalf  of  the  City  of  New  York,  and  on  the  part  of  those  whom 
I  have  the  honor  to  represent,  1  thank  you  for  this  compliment. 
New  York  has  no  jealousy  of  Boston ;  New  York  has  no  jealousy  of 
any  city  of  this  continent.  You  can  inaugurate  no  great  enterprise 
that  does  not  benefit  that  great  city  which  I  have  the  honor  here  in 
part  to  represent.  New  York* is  national  in  her  sentiments,  is  national 
in  her  associations;  and  New  York  intends  that  this  Union  shall  be 
restored,  the  Southern  States  returned,  and  the  Federal  flag  again 
float  in  triumph  over  an  united,  a  consolidated  and  a  homogeneous 
people.  (Great  applause.) 

It  is  proper  and  becoming  that  we  are  here.  Boston,  always  prac 
tical,  realizes  her  interest  in  opening  means  of  communication  be 
tween  the  East  and  the  West,  because  in  the  next  census  the  seat  of 
empire  is  to  lie  beyond  the  Mississippi,  and  these  maritime  provinces 
of  the  East  are  to  be  sustained  by  the  industry  of  the  producing 
classes  of  the  West.  These  assemblies  of  Boards  of  Trade  are  then 
of  great  significance ;  and  I  have  the  pleasure  of  stating  that  the 
Convention  has  determined  that  there  shall  be  organized  a  National 
Board  of  Trade ;  and  the  origin  of  that  association  is  due  to  the  City 
of  Boston.  (Applause.)  Gentlemen  of  the  City  of  Boston,  much  as 
you  are  delighted  to  see  us  here,  we  are  infinitely  more  gratified  to 
be  here ;  and  whenever  you  extend  the  invitation,  we  will  all  come 
again.  (Prolonged  applause.) 

The  fifth  regular  toast  was  announced, — 

The  Commercial  Cities  of  the  Great  West:  They  are  no  less  centres 
of  the  inland  trade  and  commerce  of  half  the  continent  than  they  are 
important  sources  of  influence  on  the  civil  and  political  destinies  of 
its  people. 

The  MAYOR  :  —  Gentlemen,  it  is  now  my  happiness  to  introduce 
to  you  Mr.  E.  W.  BLATCHFORD,  of  Chicago:  — 

Mr.  BLATCHFORD  :  Permit  me,  Mr.  Mayor,  in  behalf  of  my 
colleagues  and  myself,  to  acknowledge  the  compliment  paid  our  West 
ern  cities  in  the  graceful  sentiment  to  which  your  Committee  has  re 
quested  me  to  respond.  And  yet  these  compliments  are  paid,  not  to 
what  has  been  already  accomplished,  so  much  as  to  what  will  be  brought 
out  in  the  future,  as  the  result  of  the  principles  and  the  efforts  which 
vou  are  so  kind  as  to  recognize  in  the  present.  They  are  the  traits  in 


222  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

the  boy,  through  which  may  be  discovered  the  character  and  estimated 
the  power  of  his  manhood.  And  as  this  evening's  gathering,  while 
forming  a  beautiful  accompaniment  to  the  objects  of  the  Convention, 
differs  from  it  in  its  occupations,  so  let  my  brief  remarks,  for  which 
the  duties  of  the  day  have  permitted  but  the  slightest  preparation, 
carry  you  into  another  subject  than  grain,  and  provisions,  and  metals, 
and  the  multifarious  points  relating  to  their  production,  manufacture, 
distribution  and  consumption.  And  indeed,  sir,  these  representatives 
of  the  Western  cities  would  do  but  meagre  justice  to  our  citizens,  and 
to  their  constant  and  self-sacrificing  labors,  did  they  not  call  your 
attention  to  some  of  the  efforts  that  are  being  made  in  the  cause  of 
charity  and  philanthropy  —  efforts  which,  in  the  results  already  at 
tained,  indicate  the  possibilites  of  the  future. 

In  speaking  of  these  efforts  for  the  moment,  permit  me  to  use  as 
my  reminder  the  institutions  which  grace  your  own  city,  and  which 
your  unwearied  attention  has  permitted  us  to  observe.  And  upon 
nothing  does  the  mind  rest  more  gratefully  than  upon  those  munifi 
cent  provisions  you  have  made  for  the  alleviation  of  human  suffering 
in  your  hospitals.  I  am  thus  reminded  that  the  earliest  object  that 
greets  the  eye  as  you  approach  St.  Louis — and  within  a  few  months 
it  will  be  the  prominent  object  on  the  lake  as  you  enter  the  harbor  of 
Chicago — are  buildings  similarly  consecrated.  Your  Eye  and  Ear 
Infirmary — the  perfection  of  whose  appliances  and  the  skill  of  whose 
treatment  are  known  to  us — reminds  of  the  institutions  devoted  to 
the  same  noble  chanty  in  more  than  one  of  our  Western  cities. 
Your  common  school  system,  with  its  varied  beneficent  methods — the 
result  of  years  of  faithful  study  and  experience  by  those  now  gone  to 
their  reward — is  the  system  through  which  we  are  endeavoring  to 
secure  the  results  to  which  you  have  more  nearly  attained.  Inti 
mately  connected  with  this  are  our  public  libraries  and  reading-rooms 
— our  Young  Men's  Associations — and,  what  deserves  a  fuller  men 
tion,  did  time  permit,  our  Academies  of  Science  and  Museums  of 
Natural  History,  through  which  have  already  been  given  to  the  world 
facts  and  names  not  unworthy  of  our  years  and  observation. 

Thus,  Mr.  Mayor,  are  we  responding  to  the  example  of  our 
sister  cities  of  the  East.  The  same  Christian  charity  that  here  would 
raise  the  fallen,  heal  the  deaf,  enlighten  the  blind,  minister  to  the 
suffering,  relieve  the  poor,  educate  the  ignorant,  is  present  there — 
all-embracing,  energetic,  persevering.  When  you  read  the  reports 
of  the  movements  of  fabulous  quantities  of  wheat,  and  corn,  and  oats, 
and  provisions,  and  iron,  and  lead,  and  wool,  bear  in  mind  that  all 
this  holds  an  intimate  relation  to  a  "  work  of  faith  and  labor  of  love," 


BANQUET  AT  MUSIC  HALL.          223 

whose  results  cannot  be  estimated  by  dollars  and  cents,  as  the  dura 
tion  of  its  influence  cannot  be  reckoned  by  earthly  days,  or  months, 
or  years.  Remember  there  are  many  throughout  the  width  and 
breadth  of  our  Western  borders,  who,  apprehending  the  true  value 
of  this  material  prosperity,  deeply  feel  the  responsibilities  it  imposes, 
and  would  endeavor  to  direct  and  use  it  in  a  manner  demanded  by 
the  solemn  teachings  of  the  past — by  the  pressing  claims  of  the 
present,  by  the  mighty  possibilities  of  the  future. 

Mr.  Mayor,  already  have  these  remarks  exceeded  the  time  that 
should  limit  them,  and  yet,  sir,  1  should  do  injustice  to  the  occasion  did 
I  fail  to  recognize  the  lesson  which  these  facts  and  this  hour  forcibly 
teach  us — the  unity  of  thought,  the  unity  of  purpose,  the  unity  of 
action  binding  together  the  East  and  the  West.  Thus  have  we  been 
bound  in  the  past — thus  are  we  united  at  the  present — thus,  sir,  will 
we  be  united  in  that  solemn  future  to  whose  history  we  are  alike  con 
tributing.  The  past  five  years  have  not  rolled  away  without  teaching 
us  this  truth.  When  April,  1861,  revealed  the  long-conceived  plans 
of  conspiracy  against  our  Government,  the  two  objective  points  that 
prominently  attracted  attention  and  aroused  our  fears  were  our 
nation's  capital  and  the  great  river  of  the  West.  The  Bay  State 
rushed  to  Washington — Chicago  to  Cairo ;  and  with  united  voice  as 
cended  the  shout  of  salvation.  And  when  the  battle  was  fought, 
and  the  victory  had  been  won,  and  Illinois — as  longed  the  Spartan 
mother — received  back  her  son  upon  a  shield,  your  lamentations  as 
cended  with  ours,  your  tears  flowed  with  ours,  as  sorrowfully  we 
gathered  about  oil  that  could  die  of  our  beloved  LINCOLN. 

The  MAYOR:  You  have  heard  from  Chicago,  you  will  now 
listen  to  Cincinnati.  I  introduce  to  you  Mr.  A.  T.  GOSHORX,  of 
that  city. 

Mr.  GOSIIORN  :  Mr.  Mayor  and  Gentlemen  :  I  have  just  been 
unceremoniously  seized  on  to  respond  for  one  of  the  great  cities  of  the 
Ohio  Valley.  The  President  of  our  Chamber  of  Commerce  is  present, 
but  being  a  modest  man  and  a  bachelor,  he  has  called  on  me,  a 
younger  bachelor,  to  speak,  in  the  presence  of  these  ladies,  for  the 
Queen  of  the  West. 

We  came  from  a  city  where  wine  is  abundant  and  native  to  the 
soil,  and  we  rejoice  to  find  the  fruits  of  our  industry  spread  so  boun 
tifully  before  us  this  evening.  When  we  left  our  homes,  we  supplied 
ourselves  with  something  to  counteract  the  effects  of  the  water,  but 
we  are  pleased  to  find  that  the  Legislature  of  this  Commonwealth  has, 
on  our  account,  suppressed  the  Prohibitory  Law  for  the  time  being. 
(Laughter.) 


COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

Our  city,  a  few  years  since,  was  in  the  far  West,  but  to-day  it  is  in 
the  centre  of  the  nation.  By  the  thrift  and  energy  of  its  citizens,  it 
has  had  a  substantial  growth  in  wealth  and  population,  and  is  now 
one  of  the  great  centres  of  business  in  the  wonderful  West. 

With  the  continued  growth  of  the  West  and  Northwest,  and  a 
return  of  quiet  and  prosperity  to  the  South,  we  shall  hope  to  see  the 
cities  of  the  Ohio  Valley  the  great  centres  of  trade,  and  among  the 
wealthiest  and  most  populous  of  the  nation.  I  trust  that  the  assem 
blage,  in  this  city,  of  so  many  experienced  business  men,  is  the  be 
ginning  of  an  united  effort  that  will  elevate  and  strengthen  the 
commercial  interests  of  the  country,  and  result  in  individual  and 
national  prosperity. 

We  are  pleased  to  recognize,  in  this  occasion,  the  good  will  that 
the  '*  solid  men  of  Boston  "  bear  to  the  men  of  the  West,  who  are 
developing  and  increasing  the  commercial  interests  of  the  country. 
By  this  cordial  greeting,  and  by  the  presence  of  the  ladies,  who  have 
always  been  first  and  foremost  in  the  hospitalities  of  this  community, 
we  feel  assured,  that  whatever  may  result  to  the  politicians,  the 
tradesmen  of  the  nation  have  a  common  interest,  and  cannot  be 
separated. 

When  our  Boston  hosts  come  to  the  hill-tops  and  prairies  of  the 
West,  although  we  cannot  expect  to  present  them  with  such  a  mag 
nificent  banquet  as  this,  they  will  find  warm  hearts,  open  houses,  and 
a  bountiful  supply  of  the  good  cheer  that  grows  on  the  banks  of  the 
Ohio. 

The  MAYOR  :  I  have  now  to  introduce  to  you  a  representative  of 
Detroit,  the  city  in  which  the  first  general  Commercial  Convention 
was  held.  You  will  listen  to  Mr.  G.  F.  BAGLEY,  one  of  the  Vice- 
Presidents  of  the  Convention. 

Mr.  BAGLEY  :  Mr.  Mayor  and  Gentlemen  of  the  City  Council  of 
Boston,  representing  the  municipality  of  the  Athens  of  America, 
the  commercial  centre  of  one  of  the  oldest  States  in  the  Union  ;  in 
behalf  of  the  City  of  Detroit,  which  I  have  the  honor  of  representing 
in  part  at  this  festive  board,  I  thank  you  for  the  kind  hospitality 
which  you  have  extended  to  the  City  of  Detroit,  in  common  with 
other  cities,  East,  West,  North  and  South.  As  you,  sir,  have  alluded 
to  Detroit  as  having  called  the  first  National  Commercial  Convention 
ever  held  in  this  country,  I  shall  be  pardoned  if  I  speak  in  reference 
to  that  subject.  Detroit  feels  pride  to-day  in ,  participating  in  this 
second  Commercial  Convention,  as  she  sees  the  legitimate  fruits  of 
the  seed  planted  by  her  some  two  years  ago.  (Applause.)  Detroit 
is  gratified  to  see  that  the  important  interests  of  the  Southern  States 


BANQUET  AT  MUSIC  HALL.          225 

of  this  great  Union  are  represented  in  tins  Convention.  (Applause.) 
And  I  trust,  that  in  the  discussions  of  this  Convention  all  local 
interests,  from  every  section  of  this  country,  will  be  laid  aside,  and 
that  one  grand  object  will  be  held  up  before  us,  that  the  financial 
integrity  of  this  great  Republic  must  and  shall  be  maintained.  (Great 
applause.) 

Gentlemen,  in  discussing  the  various  subjects  brought  before  you, 
the  question  of  transportation,  I  think,  is  one  of  the  most  important, 
and  demands  your  most  serious  consideration.  For  as  we  multiply 
the  facilities  of  transportation  arid  travel  between  the  different  sec 
tions  of  this  extended  country,  we  increase  the  attainability  of  the 
necessaries  of  life,  increase  the  national  wealth,  and  cement  an  union 
of  American  interests,  that  will  be  as  enduring  as  the  granite  of  that 
New  England,  under  whose  auspices  this  Convention  has  been  con 
vened  at  this  time.  (Applause.)  I  thank  you,  sir,  for  the  courtesy 
you  have  shown  me. 

The  MAYOR  :  Gentlemen,  I  will  now  introduce  to  you  Mr. 
NATHAN  COLE,  of  St.  Louis. 

Mr.  COLE  :  Mr.  Mayor  and  Gentlemen ;  I  thank  you  from  my 
heart  for  the  kind  toast  to  my  native  city,  to  our  delegation,  and  to 
the  centre  of  the  world,  if  we  are  not  the  "  hub  of  the  universe." 
Our  young  men  are  brave,  and  our  old  men  are  warriors  ;  but  I  con 
fess  that  the  former,  by  the  batteries  of  ^those  sparkling  eyes,  were 
sleighed  down  yesterday,  while  our  old  men,  alas  !  to-night  are  slewed. 
(Laughter  and  applause.) 

Mr.  Mayor,  there  is  no  West  now.  The  electric  nerve  has  an 
nihilated  space,  and  we  stand  the  central  jewel  on  a  string  of  pearls 
from  the  Golden  Gate  to  Sandy  Hook.  We  have  other  pearls 
besides.  The  noble  city  of  Pittsburgh,  whose  energies  have  been 
consecrated  to  the  best  interests  of  the  laboring  artisans  and  me 
chanics  of  our  land.  And  Cincinnati,  the  Queen  City  of  the  West, 
the  great  porkopolis,  whose  founders  raised  their  hands  and  swore 
that  they  would  not  rest  until  the  last  hog  had  squealed.  (Applause.) 
Nor  would  I  forget  Chicago— the  glorious  jewel  hanging  pendant 
upon  this  string  of  pearls,  her  feet  laved  by  the  glorious  lake,  mir 
roring  her  beautiful  form,  dispensing  each  day  her  stores  of  grain  to 
the  markets  of  New  York,  Liverpool,  London,  Paris,  and  the 

world. 

In  conclusion,  Mr.  Mayor,  let  me  say,  that  soon  the  iron  horse, 
when  the  last  rail  of  the  Great  Pacific  Railroad  shall  have  been  laid, 
will  shake  the  dew  from  his  mane  on  the  Sierra  Nevada,  and,  cross- 
in-  the  plains  of  our  country,  not  many  suns  will  be  bathed  in  the 


±>0  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

golden  Pacific,  ere  it  come  thundering  into  your  own  depots,  an 
nouncing,  in  tones  not  to  be  misunderstood,  the  words  of  your  great 
statesman,  •'  Liberty  and  Union,  now  and  forever,  one  and  insepa 
rable/'  (Loud  applause.) 

Mr.  ALLEN  :  I  now  come  back  to  the  sea-shore,  but  shall  again 
return  to  the  West.  I  come  to  Philadelphia,  and  give  you — 

"  The  Pen  Mightier  than  the  Sword."  The  Keystone  State  served 
the  nation  with  the  sword  of  MEADE  and  the  pen  of  STANTON. 
(Applause.) 

Gentlemen,  you  will  listen  to  Mr.  J.  P.  WETHERILL,  of  Phila 
delphia. 

Mr.  WETHERILL  :  I  rejoice  to-night,  in  the  name  of  Philadelphia 
and  of  Pennsylvania,  to  extend  to  you,  Mr.  Mayor,  and  to  the  author 
ities  of  the  City  of  Boston,  the  full  meed  of  praise  for  the  magnifi 
cent  ovation  of  this  evening.  While  I  listened  to  the  eloquent 
address  of  the  gentleman  from  New  York,  I  was  reminded  of  the 
admirable  address  of  the  President  of  the  Board  of  Trade,  when  he 
said, — "  New  York  will  pat  the  City  of  Boston,  her  little  sister  city, 
on  the  head ; "  and  I  think  to-night  New  York  has  done  it  glori 
ously.  But  sir,  I  am  forced  to  take  exception  to  the  balance  of  his 
remarks  in  regard  to  New  York,  because,  if  I  recollect  aright,  the 
President  of  the  Board  of  Trade  said,  also,  that  New  York  would 
"  whistle  in  the  dark."  And  surely,  gentlemen,  to-night,  New  York 
has  whistled  in  the  brilliant  light  of  this  glorious  entertainment. 
(Applause.)  And  it  gave  me  pleasure  to  listen  to  the  eloquent 
remarks  of  other  gentlemen,  coming  from  the  North  and  from  the 
great  and  mighty  West,  for  I  felt  assured  that  hereafter  we  shall 
form  such  a  nation,  that  we  can  indeed  and  in  truth  say  of  the 
National  Convention  of  the  Boards  of  Trade,  "  E  Pluribus  Unum  " 
— "Now  and  forever,  one  and  inseparable."  (Applause.)  The 
President  of  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade  also  said  that  inasmuch  as 
Boston  intended  to  consolidate,  it  would,  in  time,  take  in  New  York. 
(Laughter.)  I  would  recommend,  sir,  that  inasmuch  as  Philadel 
phia,  "  the  city  of  brotherly  love,"  is  only  a  hundred  miles  distant 
from  New  York,  the  City  of  Boston  shall  extend  to  our  own  city. 
(Laughter  and  applause.)  While  upon  this  question,  allow  me  to 
say  for  Philadelphia,  that  not  only  is  she  the  "  city  of  brotherly 
love,"  but  she  has  also  a  vast  amount  of  sisterly  affection.  (Laughter.) 
And  I  think  it  fitting,  in  this  connection,  to  extend  to  the  ladies  of 
the  City  of  Boston  our  warmest  congratulations  and  our  hearty 
thanks.  (Loud  applause.) 


BANQUET  AT  MUSIC  HALL.          227 

The  MAYOR  :  I  now  propose  to  let  you  hear  from  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi — New  Orleans — which  is  represented  here  by  Mr. 
M.  A.  BRYSON. 

Mr.  BRYSON  :  I  suppose  it  is  perfectly  proper,  since  the  mouth  of 
the  Mississippi  is  interested  in  the  commerce  of  this  great  nation,  that 
she  should  have  a  voice  in  the  deliberations  of  this  Convention ;  and 
as  we  as  a  nation  have  not  yet  consented  that  New  Orleans,  or  any 
part  of  the  great  South,  should  be  out  of  this  nation,  it  has  been 
thought  proper  by  the  authorities  here  to-night,  that,  as  there  are  no 
delegates  present  from  the  City  of  New  Orleans,  I  should  be  called 
upon  as  representing,  in  part,  the  commercial  interests  of  that  city  and 
of  the  Mississippi  in  general,  at  Washington,  to  speak  in  behalf  of  the 
mouth  of  the  Mississippi.  Allow  me  to  say,  Mr.  Mayor,  in  behalf  of 
those  interests,  that  their  voice  is  not,  as  it  has  been  in  the  few  years 
just  past,  the  voice  of  wailing  which  has  been  echoing  until  even  up 
to  within  a  few  months  past,  but  that  the  energies  of  the  South,  the 
incubus  and  burden  which  have  been  weighing  upon  them  having 
been  lifted  from  her  shoulders,  are  now  being  developed.  The  New 
England  energy  which  permeated  her  veins  is  bursting  its  bonds,  and 
there  is  coming  from  that  great  fountain  of  health  and  strength  the 
power  that  shall  infuse  new  life  and  activity  into  the  commercial 
channels  of  our  land.  (Applause.) 

In  years  that  are  past,  we  have  scarcely  heard  of  the  commerce  of 
the  South.  It  has  been  bound  in  iron  chains.  I  have  said  to  my 
friends  there  in  New  Orleans,  in  looking  at  these  interests:  "  Gentle 
men,  unless  you  leave  these  old  channels,  these  old  avenues,  and 
rouse  yourselves  in  behalf  of  your  own  interests,  we  from  the  North 
west  and  others  from  the  North  will  pour  in  a  wave  of  enterprise  that 
will  free  your  abundant  resources,  and  bring  forth  a  power  that  will 
help  bear  the  national  burdens,  and  lift  this  great  weight  of  national 
debt,  immense  as  it  is,  from  the  shoulders  of  the  nation."  (Applause.) 
And  let  me  say,  gentlemen,  in  their  behalf,  that  the  City  of  New 
Orleans  has  said  to  me,  «  We  will  stand  by  you  in  your  efforts  for  the 
promotion  of  the  general  commerce  of  the  nation.  We  are  a  part  of 
you  ;  rebellion  is  gone  forever  ;  (loud  applause  ;)  we  could  not  raise 
a  corporal's  guard  on  it  now.  We  will  stand  by  you,  and  shoulder  to 
shoulder,  this  nation  shall  show  to  the  world  its  power  and  its  re 
sources." 

I  feel  when  I  look  at  the  gray-haired  men  around  me,  that  it  is  not 
my  place  to  speak  in  behalf  of  the  great  Mississippi ;  but  the  day  is 
comin"  when  she  will  be  heard;  when  from  her  vast  plains  and 
valleys  and  slopes  there  shall  pour  forth  a  wealth  that  shall  gladden 


COMMERCIAL   CONTENTION. 

many  lands ;  when  upon  her  bosom  she  will  bear  to  the  Gulf  anil  out 
into  the  ocean,  to  feed  New  England  and  to  feed  the  world,  the 
products  of  that  great  valley,  whose  resources  have  laid  so  long  un 
developed.  It  has  been  chained  in  the  past ;  it  has  been  bound  in 
bands  of  mud  and  rock,  and  it  has  been  even  stopped  by  armed  bands  ; 
but  the  armed  bands  are  swept  away,  and  the  other  obstacles  shall 
be  swept  away ;  and  along  that  great  "  Father  of  Waters,"  in  the 
grandest  valley  of  the  world,  shall  be  seen  a  country  rich  in  every 
production,  and  teeming  with  the  wealth  of  nations.  (Loud  ap 
plause.) 

I  thank  you,  Mr.  Mayor,  for  the  honor  you  have  done  me,  and  I 
know  that  New  Orleans,  who,  has  authorized  and  requested  me, 
though  coming  from  St.  Louis,  to  represent  her  at  Washington,  will 
not  go  back  on  anything  I  have  said  here  to-night.  I  can  pledge  her 
for  that,  and  she  will  shake  hands  with  you  in  the  great  enterprises 
in  which  we  are  here  engaged ;  and  I  am  happy  to  believe  that  the 
bond  between  the  distant  sections  of  the  far  North  and  the  far  South 
shall  be  drawn  closer  together,  and  the  citizens  of  Boston  shall  yet 
shake  hands  in  perfect  congruity  and  unanimity  with  the  citizens  of 
New  Orleans,  and  they  shall  stand  as  brothers  in  every  effort  for  the 
prosperity  and  glory  of  our  common  country.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  ALLEN  :  Gentlemen,  we  will  now  go  still  further, — 

The  Pacific  Coast — As  far  as  the  West  is  from  the  East,  so  far  from 
our  hearts  is  any  sentiment,  except  that  of  Love  and  Union  with  our 
Western  sisters. 

To  this  sentiment,  a  response  will  be  made  by  Mr.  ALFRED 
DE\\TITT,  of  San  Francisco. 

Mr.  DEWITT  :  I  believe  this  is  the  first  occasion  on  which  the 
representatives  of  the  far  East  and  the  far  West  have  convened  to 
gether.  I  do  not  consider  our  friends  in  Minnesota  the  far  West. 
We  call  that  State,  in  California,  one  of  the  Middle  States.  We  call 
that  the  far  West  where  the  men  paddle  their  canoes  on  the  streams 
leading  to  the  Pacific  Ocean. 

Our  people  are  at  this  time  about  retiring  to  their  homes,  to  enjoy 
the  society  of  their  families  and  friends.  1  know  from  experience 
that  the  memories  of  our  Eastern  homes  enter  largely  into  the  con 
versations  of  our  homes  in  that  far  distant  State.  The  heights  of  the 
Sierra  Nevada  cannot  shut  out  the  recollections  of  our  boyhood 
homes,  nor  can  they  stand  as  monuments  of  any  forgetfulness  on  our 
part.  They  have  been  already  pierced  by  the  Great  Central  Pacific 


BANQUET   AT   MUSIC    HALL.  229 

Railroad,  whose  iron  bands  are  now  uniting  the  far  East  with  the  far 
West, 

This,  I  suppose,  is  a  meeting  more  for  conviviality  than  for  sober 
statistics,  and  I  will  merely  say  to  you  that  I  am  one  of  the  earliest 
merchants  of  San  Francisco.  At  the  time  I  landed  on  those  shores, 
before  the  peace  with  Mexico,  that  city  contained  but  about  two  hun 
dred  and  fifty  inhabitants.  We  now  number  one  hundred  and  thirty 
thousand.  I  could  go  on  and  tell  you  of  the  wonders  of  our  State, 
but  I  fear  you  would  think  the  story  extravagant.  Our  Western 
friends  have  a  saying,  "  As  easy  as  rolling  off  a  log."  If  you  think 
of  trying  to  roll  off  one  of  our  big  logs,  I  recommend  you  to  make  the 
experiment  first  on  a  two-story  house,  and  see  how  that  seems. 
(Laughter.)  We  hope  that  in  the  course  of  time,  aided  by  the  wise 
efforts  of  the  merchants  of  this  part  of  the  land  to  relieve  our  country 
from  its  present  depression,  we  shall  be  able  to  reap  the  rewards  of 
our  enterprise  in  the  past,  and  be  stimulated  to  yet  greater  efforts  in 
the  future.  I  thank  you,  Mr.  Mayor,  for  your  courtesy  and  liberality. 

Mr.  JAMES  W.  TAYLOR,  of  St.  Paul,  Minnesota,  was  then  intro 
duced,  and  spoke  as  follows  :  — 

My  friend  from  the  Golden  Gate,  San  Francisco,  has  por 
trayed  eloquently  the  resources  of  that  great  empire  State  of 
the  Pacific  coast,  but  far  to  the  Northwest  there  comes  a  new 
New  England  into  the  union  of  this  Republic.  (Applause.)  The 
eloquent  voice  of  a  son  of  Massachusetts  has  vindicated  to  the  world 
the  sagacity  of  the  purchase  of  Russian  America,  and  I  am  here  to 
night  to  say  that  the  march  of  the  American  Empire  is  from  this 
hour  henceforth  Northwest,  until  it  unites  with  the  shores  of  Asia, 
and  embraces  the  whole  coast  of  the  Pacific.  (Applause.)  Do  you 
know,  citizens  of  Boston,  that  the  name  of  your  city  is  familiar  to 
every  tribe  upon  the  shores  of  Alaska?  The  untutored  savage  of 
Alaska  has  heard  of  Boston,  has  heard  of  that  great  struggle  for 
freedom  which  was  rocked  in  Faneuil  Hall;  and  among  the  savage 
tribes  of  the  Northwest  coast  of  this  continent,  whenever  they  wish  to 
speak  of  an  American,  they  call  him  a  Boston  man.  (Applause.) 
Aye,  the  traditions  of  this  city,  the  Cradle  of  Liberty,  which  come 
echoing  back  here  in  the  voices  of  these  men  of  the  West,  are  familiar 
tales  upon  the  Pacific  coast.  (Applause.)  Sir,  I  represent  the  dis 
tant  State  of  Minnesota,  and  whenever  I  rise  before  an  assembly  of 
my  fellow-citizens,  I  know  that  one-half,  aye,  a  majority  of  the  faces 
before  me  first  saw  their  mother's  face  here  in  New  England. 
(Applause.)  I  ask  no  prouder  name  for  Minnesota  than  the  "New 


L»:;n  COMMERCIAL  CONVENTION. 

England  of  tbe  West."  ("  Bravo.")  There  we  stand,  the  outpost  of 
the  Northwest ;  and,  my  friends,  Minnesota  will  lead  in  the  annexa 
tion  to  the  United  States,  not  only  of  the  distant  Alaska,  but  of  all  the 
intervening  territories,  until  the  only  boundary  of  this  great  Republic 
of  the  West  shall  be  the  North  Pole.  (Laughter  and  applause.) 

Mr.  ALLEN  :  Gentlemen,  you  will  now  listen  to  some  remarks  by 
Mr.  E.  D.  HOLTON,  of  Mihvaukie. 

Mr.  HOLTON  :  Mr.  Mayor,  when  I  was  a  boy,  there  used  to  be 
a  man  going  through  the  country  by  the  name  of  DANIEL  LAMBERT. 
You  may  have  heard  of  him.  He  was  a  man  of  most  extraordinary 
corporosity,  and  there  was  a  small  man  who  went  round  with  him, 
and  it  used  to  be  shrewdly  said,  that  he  had  more  brains  than  DANIEL 
himself.  Now,  Mr.  Chairman,  you  here  in  Boston  may  be  encour 
aged,  for  if  my  friend  Mr.  WALBRIDGE  does  represent  DANIEL 
LAMBERT,  and  if  Boston  is  the  little  man,  it  is  sometimes  said  that 
he  has  got  as  many  brains  as  DANIEL  has.  (Laughter.)  We  are 
similarly  circumstanced  out  on  Lake  Michigan.  There  is  a  DANIEL 
LAMBERT  out  there,  (Chicago,)  and  a  small  man  walking  along  by 
his  side,  (Mihvaukie.)  You  may  have  heard  of  our  good  town  of 
Milwaukie.  It  lies  at  about  the  forty-third  parallel  of  latitude,  on  the 
west  shore  of  Lake  Michigan.  You  see  that  I  am  a  very  young 
man,  but  I  have  seen  every  brick  in  that  "  city  of  bricks "  raised 
from  the  ground  to  the  eaves.  (Applause.)  Our  population  is  now 
eighty  thousand.  Mihvaukie  is  a  large  manufacturer  of  certain  com 
modities  ;  she  maintains  a  foreign  and  domestic  commerce.  One  of 
her  articles  of  manufacture  is  lager  beer.  (Laughter.)  The  largest 
exportation  of  which  goes  down  to  our  friend  DANIEL,  (Chicago,) 
and  is  thus  distributed  to  all  his  neighbors  below.  We  are  not  a 
wiiH'-jjrowing  country,  and  consequently  we  have  to  use  lager. 

You  had  a  plain,  simple  man  standing  here  a  few  moments  ago 
(Mr.  BRYSON,)  who  made  us  a  beautiful  speech.  I  am  afraid  of 
that  man.  He  travels  up  and  down  the  Mississippi  river,  and  goes 
to  Congress  and  tells  them  of  the  eighteen  thousand  miles  of  naviga 
tion  of  that  river,  and  justly  demands,  in  my  view,  that  Congress 
shall  stretch  forth  its  strong  arm,  and  make  every  inch  of  that  river, 
from  its  mouth  to  its  head,  navigable  for  the  best  steamers  that  float 
upon  any  waters.  Standing  on  the  shore  of  Lake  Michigan, — though 
laying  no  claim  to  be  either  a  prophet  or  the  son  of  a  prophet, — I 
think  I  see  the  millions  of  bushels  from  the  great  grain-growing 
regions  of  the  valley  of  the  Mississippi,  on  their  way  to  the  mouth  of 
that  river.  We  in  Mihvaukie  have  thrown  out  a  thousand  miles  of 


BANQUET  AT  MUSIC  HALL.          231 

railroad,  which  is  all  managed  in  our  own  city.     We  have  brought 
about  twenty  million  bushels  of  wheat  a  year,  on  the  average,  for  the 
last  five  years,  to  the  City  of  Milwaukie.     Much  of  that  has  come 
from  across  the  river.     I    am   here  with  my  associates  to  ask, — to 
demand,  as  far  as  we  may, — that  you  shall  give   us  the  power  to 
withstand  this  sandy-headed  man  (Mr.  BRYSON)  who  has  stood  here 
as  the  advocate  of  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi,  and  to  see  to  it  that  our 
fifteen  hundred   ships  shall  find  wharves  here  in  the  City  of  Boston. 
(Applause.)     We  are  going  to  make  a  league  with  another  man  here 
(Mr.  BARNUM,)  who  will  carry  you  on  to  the  Pacific  Ocean,  and  send 
you  whirling  along  his  railroad  through  the  gorges  of  the  great  river 
that  empties  at  Mr.  ASTOR'S  former  home..    I  am  going  to  make  a 
contract,  I  say,  and  enter  into  a  league  with  him,  and  I  will  go  in  for 
his  railroad,  and  he  shall  have  it,  provided  he  will  give  me  a  ship 
canal  to  the  sea.     And  if  you  men  of  New  York,  and  these  men  of 
Buffalo  and  other  cities,  will  not  come  into  the  measure,  I  will  tell 
you  what  we  are  going  to  do ;    we  are  going  to  join  hands  with 
Vermont,   and   make   a   contract   with    Massachusetts,  and  we    are 
coming  down  through  the  Hoosac  Tunnel  with  our  products.     (Ap 
plause.)     Prepare,  therefore,  Mr.  Mayor,  the  public  sentiment  of 
Massachusetts  for  that  measure.     The  navigation  of  the  Mississippi 
river,  the  track  across  to  the  mouth  of  the  Columbia,  the  continuous 
navigation  of  the  lakes,  by  which  our  vast  commerce  shall  have  free 
access  hitherward, — these  are  the  threefold  instrumentalities  and  powers 
which  shall  bind  our  Union  in  indissoluble  and  indestructible  bonds. 

Mr.  Mayor,  I  was  deeply  touched,  —  the  tears  sprang  to  my 
eyes,— when  I  heard  the  respected  Governor  of  this  State  appeal  to 
us  as  New  Englanders.  Ah,  how  my  heart  came  back  to  New  Eng 
land,  going  out  from  New  Hampshire  as  I  did,  when  he  said,  "  Yes, 
all  these  men  have  a  touch  of  the  old,  honest,  Y'ankee  blood  in  their 
veins!"  Sir,  we  hear  out  West  sometimes  "about  leaving  New 
England  out  in  the  cold  !  "  I  tell  you,  when  that  day  comes,  we  will 
come  swarming  back  here  like  bees  to  the  hive.  (Applause.)  God 
defend  us  from  that  day !  When  New  England,  which  has  given 
laws  to  the  land,— which  has  given  to  it  the  great  powers  of  genius 
and  enterprise,— shall  be  "  left  out  in  the  cold,"  you  will  not  have 
standing-ground  to  hold  her  sons  who  will  come  crowding  back  upon 
you.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  BARNUM,  of  Oregon,  was  then  introduced,  and  spoke  as 
follows  : 

MR.  MAYOR,  GENTLEMEN  OF  THE  CITY  GOVERNMENT  OP 
BOSTON,  AND  OF  THE  BOARD  OF  TRADE:  Hailing,  as  I  do,  from 


232  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

the  farthest  West,  it  gives  me  pleasure  to  greet  the  representative  men 
of  the  City  of  Boston,  and  it  gives  me  still  greater  pleasure  to  be  able 
to  say  a  few  words  for  the  farthest  State  in  the  great  galaxy  of 
States.  You  have  all  heard  of  the  States  upon  the  Pacific  coast, 
but  whenever  you  take  into  your  mind  the  idea  of  the  Pacific  States, 
California  alone  stands  prominent.  The  silver  State  of  Nevada  is 
almost  overwhelmed  by  the  golden  tide  that  pours  out  from  the  gates 
of  that  mistress  of  the  West,  San  Francisco.  You  almost  forget  that 
there,  lies  upon  our  northwest  border  a  State  smaller  in  population, 
but  older  in  years,  than  any  other  territory  upon  the  Pacific  coast. 
Before  California  was  added  to  the  Union, — before  Nevada  had  been 
pressed  by  the  foot  of  a  single  white  man, — there  was  a  territory  by 
the  name  of  Oregon,  of  which  you  may  once  have  heard  a  little,  but 
of  which  you  have  heard  less  since  California  and  the  great  West 
have  loomed  up  with  their  golden  treasures  before  you. 

Before  I  proceed  to  say  anything  of  that,  however,  I  desire  to  say 
here,  that  whatever  there  may  be  in  me  that  is  worthy  of  commenda 
tion,  or  whatever  there  may  be  in  me  of  ability,  I  owe  to  my  New 
England  ancestry.  In  the  blood  that  courses  in  my  veins,  I  am 
proud  to  say,  is  commingled  the  blood  of  the  Bay  and  the  Nutmeg 
States. 

A  great  majority  of  the  people  of  Oregon  are  the  hardy  sons  of 
New  England.  We  bear  through  all  our  domains  names  that  remind 
us  of  New  England.  The  capital  of  our  State  is  Salem  ;  the  great 
commercial  town  of  our  State  is  Portland ;  and  we  have,  too,  a 
Boston  in  Oregon.  It  is  not  so  large  as  the  Boston  that  sits  here 
upon  Massachusetts  Bay  ;  indeed,  I  may  state  that  at  the  present 
time  it  contains  within  its  corporate  limits  but  three  houses ;  but  it 
will  grow.  We  are  reminded  every  day  of  New  England,  of  this 
city  ;  for  wherever  an  Indian  treaty  is  made,  the  name  of  Boston 
sounds  oftener  than  any  other  word.  The  first  white  men  that  went 
to  that  territory,  were  the  voyageurs  and  trappers  of  the  Hudson  Bay 
Company  from  England,  and  they  became  known  to  thousands  of 
Indians  in  that  vast  territory,  as  '•  King  GKORGE'S  tillicums."  When 
Luwis  and  CLARKE  penetrated  to  the  wilds  of  the  West, — when 
ships  from  Boston,  from  Salem,  from  Marblehead,  from  Newbury- 
port  and  from  Portland — coursed  round  the  Horn  and  visited  that 
northwest  coast,  all  the  men  who  were  known  to  belong  to  this  country 
were  by  the  Indians  denominated  "  Boston  tillicums,"  and  they  are  so 
termed  to  this  day.  It  makes  no  difference  where  a  white  man  comes 
from ;  if  he  is  a  citizen  of  the  United  States,  he  is  a  "  Boston  til- 
licum."  In  every  Indian  speech,  whatever  remark  the  Indian  may 


BANQUET  AT  MUSIC  HALL.          233 

make,  when  lie  points  to  a  white  man,  he  calls  him  a  "Boston 
tillicuin." 

As  I  said  before,  very  little  is  known,  unfortunately,  too  little  is 
known,  in  this  country,  of  that  far  Western  State.  You,  gentlemen, 
in  common  with  every  American  citizen,  are  proud  of  the  name  of 
NOAH  WEBSTER,  one  of  the  great  lexicographers  of  the  world,  who 
has  produced  that  dictionary  of  our  language  which  goes  to  all  parts 
of  the  world  as  a  standard  authority.  But  I  desire  to  say  here,  and 
I  desire  gentlemen  to  mark  it,  that  NOAH  WEBSTER,  or  the  men  who 
compiled  the  latest  edition  of  his  great  dictionary,  have  not  yet  heard 
that  there  is  a  State  of  Oregon.  I  will  tell  you  why.  And  I  want 
the  reporters  to  put  this  remark  down.  I  want  it  to  go  to  the  literary 
men  of  Harvard  and  of  Yale,  and  to  all  who  have  had  a  hand  in  the 
production  of  the  latest  illustrated  edition  of  "  Webster's  Dictionary 
of  the  English  Language,"  that  its  editors  do  not  know  the  seal  of 
Oregon,  nor  its  motto.  Upon  yonder  gallery  is  the  escutcheon  of 
your  noble  State  of  Massachusetts.  Suppose  a  representation  of 
a  prostrate  Indian,  and  underneath,  the  words,  "  Hie  jacet  Narra- 
gansett  big  Indian,"  would  you  take  that  as  a  compliment? 
Would  you  consider  that  the  lexicographers  who  compiled  the  latest 
edition  of  Webster's  Dictionary  knew  much  about  your  State?  Turn 
to  the  last  edition  of  Webster's  Dictionary,  and  you  will  find  there  a 
picture  purporting  to  represent  the  seal  of  Oregon,  which  bears  no 
more  relation  to  the  actual  seal  of  that  State  than  the  representation 
I  have  suggested  bears  to  the  seal  of  your  own  State.  The  motto  of 
Oregon  is  there  given  as  " Alt's  Volat Propriis" — ("  He  flies  with  his 
own  wings.")  It  is  no  such  thing.  Those  words  are  not  upon  the 
escutcheon  of  Oregon.  There  is  but  one  word  upon  the  seal  of 
Oregon,  and  that  word  is  the  most  glorious  one  in  the  English  Ian- 
gunge "Union."  (Applause.)  Oregon  was  admitted  into  the  Union 

in  1858, ten  years  ago, — and  since  that  time  she  has  borne  that  single 

word  as  the  motto  on  her  escutcheon  ;  and  yet  the  lexicographers 
of  Harvard  and  Yale  have  not  found  it  out!  I  will  simply  add,  that 
while  the  men  of  Oregon  are  all  for  the  Union,  the  ladies  there  are 
also  for  union.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  ALLEN  :  Gentlemen,  the  entertainment  of  the  evening  has  but 
just  commenced.  AVe  will  now  listen  to  a  little  music  from  "The 
Grand  Duchess,"  by  our  friend  GILMORE.  After  a  happy  selection 
from  this  opera  had  been  played,  the  toastmaster  introduced  Mr. 
EDWIN  BYNNER,  as  an  agent  of  the  Western  lines  of  transportation 

in  Boston. 

30 


234  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

Mr.  BYNNF.R:  Ladies  and  Gentlemen: — Mr.  Mayor,  I  take  the 
liberty  of  addressing  first  the  ladies,  because  I  have  noticed,  that 
among  all  the  orators  of  the  evening,  only  one  gentleman, — and  that 
was  the  gallant  gentleman  from  St.  Louis,  who  entertained  us  so 
eloquently, — has  made  the  first  allusion  to  the  ladies.  Sir,  I  do  not 
know  what  the  other  speakers  of  the  evening  may  have  been  thinking 
of,  but  it  has  always  seemed  to  me,  that  if  there  ever  was  a  mistake 
in  the  Divine  economy,  it  was  in  the  creation  of  man  before  woman. 
(Applause.)  I  do  not  know,  sir,  by  what  right,  either  in  the  primeval 
ages,  or  in  the  age  in  which  we  exist,  man  could  claim  precedence  of 
woman.  I  confess,  for  one,  that  I  do  not  see  how  man  could  exist 
without  woman, — (laughter,) — and  hence  I  contend  that  the  gentle 
men  who  have  addressed  you  to-night  should  have  addressed  their 
remarks,  in  the  iirst  place,  to  the  ladies. 

You  have  taken  the  liberty,  sir,  to  introduce  me  to-night  to  this 
assembly  as  the  representative  of  the  different  transportation  lines 
connecting  the  great  West  with  the  East.  1  could  have  hoped  that 
some  abler  and  more  fitting  representative  of  those  interests  should 
have  been  selected  to  speak  for  them.  Among  literary  men,  it  is  an 
adage  that  printing  is  the  '•  art  preservative  of  all  arts."  Perhaps  I 
may  claim,  in  this  commercial  assembly,  that  "  the  art  preservative  of 
all  arts,"  commercially,  is  the  transportation  art.  We  are  entitled 
here  to  a  representation,  because,  supposing  the  West  has  products 
to  sell  to  the  East,  if  there  were  no  transportation  lines  to  move  those 
products  from  one  end  of  the  continent  to  the  other,  their  industry  at 
the  West  would  be  useless,  as  our  commerce  at  the  East  would  be 
useless. 

It  has  afforded  me  great  pleasure  to  listen  to-night  to  the  accounts 
which  have  been  given  of  the  prosperity  of  the  different  sections  of 
the  West,  and  all  I  have  to  say,  in  behalf  of  the  interests  which  I 
represent,  is  that  the  idea  that  there  is  any  conflict  between  the 
interests  of  the  West  and  East  is  in  my  judgment,  and  I  believe  in 
the  judgment  of  the  members  of  this  Convention,  a  grand  mistake. 
We  are  citizens  of  a  common  country  ;  our  interests  are  common  ; 
our  destinies  are  common  ;  and  so,  commending  the  deliberations  of 
the  Convention  to  the  care  of  that  Power  which  presides  over  all  our 
deliberations,  and  thanking  you  for  the  compliment  you  have  paid 
to  the  interests  I  feebly  represent,  I  bid  you  good  night. 

Mr.  ALLEN  :  Gentlemen,  you  have  heard  from  Portland,  Oregon. 
There  is  another  City  of  Portland,  nearer  home.  I  give  you 

Portland,  Maine, —  The  Star  of  the  East — It  sparkles  with  enter 
prise. 


BANQUET  AT  MUSIC  HALL.          235 

I  call  upon  Mr.  T.  C.  HERSEY,  formerly  President  of  the  Board  of 
Trade  of  that  city  to  respond. 

Mr.  HERSEY:  Mr.  Mayor  and  Gentlemen, —  It  is  entirely  un 
expected  to  me  to  be  called  upon  to  respond  to  a  sentiment  here ;  but 
I  am  proud  to  be  a  representative  of  the  "  Pine  Tree  State,"  and  of 
the  City  of  Portland,  and  I  can  do  no  less  than  to  thank  the  City 
of  Boston  and  the  Boston  Board  of  Trade, — and  especially  the  Com 
mittee  in  attendance  at  the  Parker  House, — for  their  kind  hospitality 
to. my  associates  and  myself. 

Mr.  Mayor,  the  enterprise  of  Portland  has  been  alluded  to.  I 
would  say,  that  perhaps  we  are  entitled  to  no  more  credit  than  other 
cities,  but  a  year  ago  last  fourth  of  July,  more  than  one-half  of  our 
city  was  laid  in  ashes ;  and  yet  through  the  enterprise  and  indomit 
able  perseverance  of  our  active  business  men,  with  the  aid  of  the 
capitalists,  (I  allude  to  the  capitalists,  because,  in  our  good  city, 
the  capitalists  have  always  done  their  part  in  this  matter,)  our  city 
to-day  hardly  shows  a  trace  of  that  devouring  element.  When  enter 
prise  is  alluded  to,  I  would  say  that  I  think  we  have  our  share  of  it, 
and  I  would  not  give  a  farthing  for  the  prosperity  of  any  city  that 
would  not  be  ruined  at  least  once  in  ten  years.  Once  in  ten  years, 
any  city  needs  to  be  ruined  ;  not  as  our  city  was  ruined,  by  fire,  but 
as  Philadelphia  was  ruined  by  her  water  works,  as  New  York  was 
ruined  by  her  water  works,  as  Boston  was  ruined  by  the  Quincy 
Market,  and  again  by  her  water  works,  and  as  Portland  was  ruined 
by  her  investments  in  the  Grand  Trunk  Railway.  Gentlemen,  these 
things  are  what  we  require. 

In  times  past,  there  has  been  some  little  quarrelling  between  Boston 
and  Portland,  but  we  are  now  ready  to  bury  the  hatchet,  and  to  be 
received  into  her  arms.  I  believe  the  business  men  of  Boston  have 
done  as  much,  and  I  will  add  more  (I  have  said  it  home,  and  I  will 
repeat  it  here)  than  the  same  class  of  any  other  city,  to  aid  in  enter 
prises  for  the  public  benefit ;  and  if  Boston  does  not  accomplish  all 
she  desires  commercially,  she  is  likely  to  accomplish  all  she  wishes 
by  annexation,  and  we  hope  that,  if  annexation  is  to  go  on,  we  may 
not  be  "  left  out  in  the  cold."  We  will  surrender  at  the  sound  of  the 
first  gun.  (Applause.) 

Mr.  ALLEN  :  I  now  introduce  to  you  Mr.  S.  G.  FORT,  of  Oswego, 
a  strong  man,  who  will  open  his  batteries  in  our  behalf. 

Mr.  FORT:  Mr.  Mayor, —  Nestled  down  upon  the  shores  of  the 
beautiful  Ontario  is  the  city  of  my  home.  It  may  not  be  known  to 
the  inhabitants  of  Boston  that  we  have  two  forts  in  that  city.  One 


236  COMMERCIAL   CONVENTION. 

of  them  was  built  by  Uncle  Sam,  and  over  it  floats  that  flag  which 
never  jet  has  surrendered  to  any  foe,  (applause,)  and  the  other  is  a 
sort  of  walking  fort,  and  the  last  walking  he  did  was  to  walk  to 
Boston,  and  the  first  thing  he  did  when  he  arrived  here  was  to  sur 
render.  (Applause  )  We  came  from  our  homes  expecting  to  return 
at  once;  we  came  promising  ourselves  that  not  more  than  two  days, 
at  most,  should  find  us  in  this  city  ;  we  came  to  Boston,  we  have 
been  entertained  by  her  people  ;  and  to-night,  I  believe,  the  delega 
tion  from  Oswego  feel,  almost  unanimously,  that  we  will  "  fight  it  out 
on  this  line  if  it  takes  all  winter." 

We  btand  upon  the  shores  of  Lake  Ontario;  we  give  our  hands  to 
the  West,  and  we  give  our  hands  to  the  East.  We  feel  that  we  have 
one  common  country,  one  common  interest  ;  and  in  behalf  of  that 
country,  in  behalf  of  that  interest,  we  shall  always  labor.  We  find 
represented  here  in  Boston  every  Board  of  Trade  in  the  United 
States  of  America,  unless,  indeed,  they  have  a  Board  of  Trade  in 
Alaska  ;  and  at  the  next  meeting  we  shall  expect  to  see  delegates 
from  that  territory,  and,  if  they  are  not  all  shaken  to  pieces  by  that 
time,  from  St.  Thomas  as  well.  (Laughter  and  applause  ) 

The  night  is  too  far  spent,  and  speeches  have  been  too  long  in 
vogue  for  me  to  venture  to  take  up  your  time  this  evening  ;  and  in 
behalf  of  the  Oswego  delegation,  thanking  the  Boston  Board  of 
Trade  and  the  good  people  of  the  City  of  Boston  for  their  kindness, 
I  bid  you  a  hearty  good  night. 

Mr.  ALLEN  :  I  have  now  the  pleasure  of  introducing  Mr.  K.  P. 
DORK,  of  Buffalo. 

Mr.  DORR  :  Mr.  Mayor,  and  Gentlemen  of  the  City  of  Boston 
and  of  the  Board  of  Trade :  My  friend  Mr.  MARSH,  the  President 
of  our  Buffalo  Board  of  Trade,  has  asked  me  to  say  a  word  of 
response  to  your  kind  notice  of  the  Buffalo  Board  of  Trade.  It  is 
with  extreme  diffidence  and  hesitation  that  I  stand  up  before  you, 
citizens  of  Boston,  to  do  so.  The  City  of  Boston, — that  had  her 
Board  of  Trade,  her  long  line  of  prominent  and  eminent  merchants, 
and  her  fleet  of  ships  traversing  every  sea, — the  City  of  Boston  that 
attempted,  but  did  not  succeed,  to  enact  a  prohibitory  tea  drinking 
law,— and  all  long  before  the  City  of  Buffalo  had  a  solitary  white 
inhabitant,  or  even  a  name,  except  as  given  by  the  Indian  that 
roamed  unmolested  over  what  are  now  her  peopled  streets,— the 
Jity  of  Boston,  now  complimenting  and  welcoming  within  her 
princely  domain  Buffalo's  representatives,— her  Board  of  Trade,  and 
the  Board  of  Trade  of  her  sister  cities  of  the  North,  and  South,  and 


BANQUET    AT    MUSIC    HALL.  237 

West.  Mr.  Mayor,  the  City  of  Buffalo  and  her  contemporaries  of 
the  West,  are  the  cities  of  yesterday  ;  your  City  of  Boston,  so  full  of 
the  great  memories  of  the  past  in  all  that  has  tended  to  make  our 
common  country  great  arid  glorious,  dates  back  among  the  earliest 
records  of  the  settlement  of  this  country;  and  it  would  seem  illy 
fitting  for  so  young  a  city  as  the  City  of  Buffalo  to  attempt  to  put  her 
young  pamphlet  page  of  history  alongside  the  revered  book-bound 
page  of  the  City  of  Boston  ;  and  yet,  settled  as  Buffalo  is,  in  part  and 
in  common  with  all  the  cities  of  the  country,  by  people  emanating 
from  this  city  and  other  parts  of  glorious  old  New  England, — is  it  not  fit 
ting  that  the  son  should  turn  with  a  proud  face  and  a  beaming  eye  to 
the  father,  and  say:  See  what  we,  your  good  children,  have  done? 
The  lesson  from  parent  to  child,  and  child  to  parent,  may  not  suffer 
in  the  comparison,  and  the  result  may  not  only  be  not  lost  on  either, 
but  may  result  in  much  good.  In  that  view,  and  in  that  spirit,  Mr. 
Mayor,  may  I  be  allowed,  without  egotism  and  without  self- 
gratulation,  to  speak  a  word  that  may  interest  you,  of  our  city,  to 
which  you  have  so  very  kindly  just  alluded.  The  City  of  Buffalo, 
standing  as  it  does  at  the  foot  of  Lake  Erie,  is,  with  her  sister  cities 
of  Oswego  and  Ogdensburgh,  the  natural  receiver  by  \vater  carriage 
of  a  goodly  share  of  the  products  of  the  great  Northwest  seeking  their 
Eastern  markets  through  the  various  outlets  of  the  transporting 
routes  of  the  country,  commencing  with  the  great  and  rapidly  grow 
ing  City  of  Chicago,  the  largest  primary  and  the  largest  entrepot 
grain  market  of  the  world,  with  her  network  of  railroads  and  canals, 
all  pouring  their  inexhaustible  supplies  of  products  of  wealth  into  the 
hands  of  the  most  energetic  men  that  ever  peopled  and  made  a  city, 
down  to  the  City  of  Mihvaukie,  of  which  we  cannot  say  much  less 
in  deserving  spirit  at  least,  and  embracing  Detroit,  Toledo,  Cleve 
land — all  cities  and  peoples  which  we  are  proud  to  own  as  sisters,  and 
proud  to  be  bound  together  with  them  by  a  common  tie  of  interest. 
All  these  cities,  Mr.  Mayor,  bring  to  Buffalo  in  immense  quantities, 
by  water  and  by  rail,  the  combined  products  of  the  great  West,  and 
these  are  thence  distributed  through  the  arteries  of  transportation  all 
over  the  cities  of  the  East. 

Mr.  Mayor,  the  Buffalo  Board  of  Trade  is  a  young  institution, — 
an  emanation  of  only  a  few  years'  growth.  Buffalo,  now  a  city  of 
one  hundred  and  thirty  thousand  people,  was,  thirty  years  ago,  a  city 
of  twelve  or  fifteen  thousand.  The  City  of  Buffalo  was  the  first  to 
invent,  by  one  of  her  honored  citizens,  and  to  put  in  use  for  commer 
cial  purposes  in  the  transfer  of  grain,  that  new,  indispensable  inven 
tion,  the  grain  elevator.  Without  it  to  facilitate  the  handling  of 


238  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

grain,  the  whole  Northwest  would  at  this  day  be  many,  many  years 
lu-hind  its  present  commereial  advancement.  Many  time.*,  Mr. 
Mayor,  within  the  past  six  or  seven  years,  have  vessels  entered 
the  port  of  Buffalo  with  two  million  bushels  of  grain,  and  been  all 
unloaded  and  out  of  the  harbor  within  twenty-four  hours  ;  and  in  one 
instance  have  three  millions  and  one-half  bushels  of  grain  been  un 
loaded,  and  the  vessels  out  again,  within  thirty-six  hours.  Buffalo  has 
capacity  in  elevators  to  unload  and  handle,  and  transfer  to  her  canal 
boats,  this  vast  amount  of  grain,  besides  capacity  for  other  varied 
products.  I  spoke  only  of  the  lake  cities  that  have  added  so  largely 
to  her  commerce  and  prosperity.  I  would  include  in  honorable  men 
tion  the  territory  and  cities  beyond  the  lakes,  and  prominent  among 
them  the  great  cities  of  Cincinnati  and  St.  Louis,  either  of  them 
fittinir,  in  all  respects,  to  be  called  tthe  great  emporium  in  common 
with  its  peers  of  the  great  Northwest. 

Mr.  Mayor,  a  few  words  more,  and  I  am  done.  There  are  two 
ways  to  move  the  products  of  the  earth, — two  motive  powers  requi- 
gjte, — money  to  buy  with,  and  a  natural  power  to  turn  it  homeward 
to  its  destination.  Would  you,  as  a  father,  accept  from  the  son  a 
word  of  advice  as  to  its  marketing?  If  you  desire  to  participate  in 
the  prosperity  of  this  stream  of  golden  wealth  from  the  West  to  the 
East,  we  would  say  to  you :  Take  your  money,  father,  and  go  West ; 
only  take  a  small  part  of  it,  to  experiment  with,  at  lirst ;  shake  off 
a  part  of  the  prudent  caution  of  benevolent  old  age  ;  go  Westward 
among  your  sons  ;  you  will  be  proud  of  them  as  soon  as  you  know 
them.  Mix  the  caution  of  the  East  with  the  prompt  energy  of  the 
West.  Give  the  West,  so  sparsely  scant  of  capital,  the  helping  hand 
of  your  overloaded  money-hoarded  coffers  of  the  East.  Stand .  on 
your  feet  in  the  great  City  of  Chicago,  to  illustrate  the  point,  money 
in  hand,  and  say,  I  want  to  purchase  one  hundred  thousand  bushels 
of  wheat  to  send  to  Boston,  on  Boston  merchants' account,  to  transship 
to  Europe  on  the  steamer  Ontario,  to  encourage  her  noble-hearted 
projectors.  Say  to  the  agent  of  that  network  of  transportation  in 
Chicago,  I  will  buy  this  grain  if  you  will  send  it  to  Boston  as  cheap 
for  me,  and  by  the  same  routes,  either  Oswego,  or  Ogdensburgh,  as 
I  may  select,  as  you  do  to  New  York ;  and  it  will  be  done,  and 
your  question  of  side  issue  is  solved.  Money  is  the  lever,  and  you 
have  enough  of  it  to  move  even  Niagara  Falls,  if  you  wish  to  do  it. 
When  you  touch  the  yellow  kernel  of  the  cereal,  you  touch  in  it  com 
mercial  advantages  to  manufactures  and  to  commerce,  a  mine  of 
wealth,  compjiwd  with  which  the  copper  and  mineral  stocks  sink  into 
utter  insignificance.  Legislation  to  protect  commerce,  and  an  inter- 


BANQUET  AT  MUSIC  HALL.  239 

change  of  views  of  men  engaged  in  kindred  enterprises,  are  very 
useful ;  but  we  cannot  at  a  saving  make  water  run  up  hill  by  spend 
ing  money,  when,  if  let  alone,  it  will  run  down  hill  of  itself. 

I  would  say  to  you,  good  fathers,  come  up  and  see  your  sons,  and 
visit  them  on  their  farms  in  the  West,  and  buy  something  to  take 
home  and  send  abroad  to  your  ancestry  across  the  water,  on  the  other 
side.  Don't  sit  still,  expecting  your  sons  to  come  to  yon  to  sell  their 
products,  when  the  younger  cousins, — another  branch  of  the  family, 
and  in  many  cases  not  to  the  manor  born, — come  up  ahead  of  you, 
while  you  are  staying  at  home  "  waiting  for  something  to  turn  up," 
and  take  the  lot  all  to  themselves.  Return  this  visit  of  your  West 
ern  relations,  bring  your  greenbacks  with  you,  and  settle  this  mooted 
question  of  an  unequal  distribution  of  Government  funds  (I  am  on 
the  Currency  Committee)  to  the  New  England  States  in  a  satisfac 
tory  manner  to.  our  Western  friends,  and  in  a  short  time  you  will 
have  need  of  more  Ontarios  and  Eries,  and  Mr.  CCNARD  will 
be  sorry  he  ever  left  a  port  from  whose  citizens  his  line  for  many 
years  had  such  a  generous  support. 

Mr.  Mayor  and  gentlemen,  excuse  me  if  I  have  tired  your  patience, 
or  have  wandered  from  my  subject ;  and  allow  me  to  thank  you  in 
behalf  cf  my  worthy  friend,  its  President,  and  my  colleagues  of  the 
Board  of  Trade  of  Buffalo,  for  the  kind  reception  and  princely  enter 
tainment  of  the  citizens  of  Boston  and  of  your  time-honored  merchants, 
the  Board  of  Trade  of  Boston. 

Mr.  ALLEN  :  In  closing,  I  have  no  doubt  every  gentleman  here, 
whether  a  resident  of  Boston  or  otherwise,  will  unite  in  a  sentiment 
invoking — 

Prosperity  to  tlie  Board  of  Trade  of  the  City  of  Boston. 

I  have  the  pleasure  of  introducing  to  you  the  President  of  the 
Boston  Board  of  Trade. 

Mr.  NAZRO  :  Gentlemen,  at  this  late  hour  I  should  not  attempt  to  say 
a  single  word  to  you,  had  not  His  Excellency  the  Governor  informed 
us  that  this  was  a  family  party  ;  therefore  I  feel  at  liberty,  in  bid 
ding  you  good  night,  to  say  a  single  word.  I  feel,  as  a  representa 
tive  of  the  Board  of  Trade  of  Boston,  under  great  obligations  to  our 
municipal  authorities  for  what  they  have  done  for  our  guests  on  this 
occasion  ;  and  in  behalf  of  the  Board  I  tender  to  them  its  thanks  for 
what  they  have  done  for  us  ;  and  preeminently  would  I  thank. them 
for  the  presence  of  the  ladies  who  have  graced  our  assemblage  here 
to-night.  Gentlemen  of  the  Convention,  I  beg  that  you  will  take 
with  you  the  friendly  greetings  of  the  merchants  of  Boston.  They 


240  COMMERCIAL    COXVEXTIOX. 

have  welcomed  you  here  with  joy ;  they  hope  many  times  to  meet 
you  again :  they  delight  to  have  you  visit  them,  and  they  hope  to 
visit  you.  They  hope  that  these  Conventions,  which  have  been 
established  now  as  an  institution  of  the  land,  will  continue,  and  that 
the  merchants  of  the  United  States  will  meet  and  discuss  the  various 
(jiH-xtions  iu  which  they  are  interested,  together. 

Hut,  gentlemen,  called  up  here  at  this  moment,  I  am  very  much 
in  the  position  of  the  young  lawyer  who  undertook  to  make  an  ad 
dress  at  the  opening  of  a  new  bridge.  It  was  his  first  speech,  and 
lie  had  prepared  himself  to  speak  most  eloquently.  He  began  with, 
"  The  timbers  with  which  this  bridge  was  made,  a  short  time  ago, 
formed  a  part  of  the  vast  howling  wilderness."  Here  his  memory 
failed  him,  and  he  repeated  the  sentence  a  second,  a  third,  and  u 
fourth  time.  Then  he  made  a  desperate  effort,  and  said,  "  Mr.  Chair 
man,  the  timbers  of  which  this  bridge  is  made,  a  short  time  ago, 
formed  a  part  of  the  vast,  howling  wilderness  ;  and  I  wish  to  good 
ness  they  formed  a  part  of  it  now."  (Laughter  and  applause.)  Now, 
gentlemen,  I  do  not  mean  to  say  that  I  wish  any  of  our  friends  formed 
a  part  of  the  "  vast  howling  wilderness,"  but  I  do  say  that  I  mean  to 
get  out  of  the  woods  as  quickly  as  possible.  I  thank  you  for  the 
attention  you  have  given  me  here.  I  hope  you  will  remember 
Boston ;  remember  our  City  Government ;  remember  the  merchants 
of  Boston,  and  remember  the  Board  of  Trade.  I  bid  you  good  night. 
(Cheers.) 

Mr.  ALLKX  :  Gentlemen,  the  entertainment  of  the  evenin^  will 
close  with  a  grand  concert  from  our  friend  GiLMORE,at  the  other  end 
of  the  hall. 

The  band  accordingly  played  a  pot  pourri  of  national  and  popular 
airs,  concluding  with  "Yankee  Doodle,"  which  was  loudly  applauded. 

At  the  conclusion  of  the  music,  three  cheers  were  given  for  the 
band ;  and,  at  a  quarter  before  eleven  o'clock,  the  company  sepa 
rated,  with  enthusiastic  cheers  for  the  Board  of  Trade,  the  City  of 
Boston,  and  all  concerned  in  the  conception  and  management  of  the 
entertainmeDt. 


VISIT  TO   THE   LEGISLATURE. 


THE  Convention,  having  accepted  an  invitation  to  visit  the  Legis 
lature  of  Massachusetts,  was  waited  upon  at  two  o'clock  on  Friday, 
the  seventh  of  February,  by  the  Joint  Committee  of  the  two  Houses, 
and  conducted  to  the  State  House. 

On  arriving  in  the  hall  of  the  House  of  Representatives,  where  the 
two  branches  of  the  Legislature,  with  the  Governor  and  Executive 
Council,  were  assembled,  the  President  of  the  Convention  was 
assigned  a  seat  on  the  Speaker's  platform,  at  the  right  of  the  Gov 
ernor.  When  all  were  seated,  Mr.  SCHOOLER,  of  the  Senate, 
Chairman  of  the  Special  Committee  appointed  to  wait  on  the  Con 
vention,  addressed  the  President  of  the  Senate,  who  occupied  the 
chair,  as  follows  : 

MR.  PRESIDENT  :  As  Chairman  of  the  Joint  Committee  of  the  two 
branches  of  the  Legislature  to  convey  to  the  National  Convention  of 
business  men  assembled  in  this  city,  the  invitation  of  the  General 
Court  of  Massachusetts  to  appear  here  in  the  State  House  on  this 
day,  to  be  received  by  the  Legislature  and  to  be  welcomed  to  this 
ancient  Commonwealth  by  his  Excellency  the  Governor,  I  have  the 
honor  at  this  time  to  present  to  you,  the  President  of  the  Con 
vention  and  the  Convention  itself,  in  acceptance  of  the  invitation 
extended  to  them. 

The  President  of  the  Senate,  Mr.  BRASTOW,  then  addressed  the 
President  of  the  Convention  as  follows  : 

Mr.  PRESIDENT  :  The  two  branches  of  the  Legislature  are.  assem 
bled  in  convention  for  the  purpose  of  welcoming  you  and  your  asso 
ciates  to  our  State  Capital.  And  in  behalf  of  the  Legislature,  I  have 
the  pleasure  of  tendering  to  you,  and  to  the  distinguished  gentlemen 
representing  the  Boards  of  Trade  of  so  many  of  the  commercial  cities 
of  our  Union,  a  most  hearty  and  a  most  cordial  greeting.  (Cheers.) 
But  for  the  purpose  of  more  fully  and  more  emphatically  expressing 
to  you  the  deep  interest  felt  by  the  Government,  and  by  the  whole 
people  of  our  State,  in  the  objects  of  your  National  Commercial  Con 
vention,  permit  me,  sir,  to  present  you  to  the  Chief  Executive  of 

31 


242  COMMERCIAL    CONVENTION. 

the   Commonwealth  of   Massachusetts,   His    Excellency    Governor 

BULLOCK. 

The  Governor  welcomed  the  Convention  in  the  following  words  : 

MR.    PRESIDENT,    AND     GENTLEMEN     OF    THE     NATIONAL    COM- 

MERCIAL  CONVENTION  :  By  request  of  the  Senate  and  the  House 
of  Representatives  of  Massachusetts,  it  is  my  profound  pleasure  to 
meet  you  here,  and  in  the  name  of  the  Legislative  and  Executive 
Departments  of  the  Government  to  welcome  you  to  this  Common 
wealth,  and  to  express  the  respect  in  which  yourselves,  and  the  cause 
you  represent,  are  held  by  all  our  people. 

I  may  properly  say  that  the  proceedings  of  your  body  are  likely 
to  form  an  epoch  in  the  history  of  the  industries  of  this  country.  The 
pursuits  of  agriculture,  commerce,  manufactures  and  the  mechanic 
arts,  of  which  the  joint  welfare  has  been  the  subject  of  your  delibera 
tions,  constitute  the  base  of  the  prosperity  and  social  life  of  the  people 
of  all  the  States.  Those  interests  are  united  in  one  common  destiny. 
There  is  no  such  possibility  as  isolation  or  separation  in  the  empire 
of  modern  labor.  All  these  activities  and  employments  make  a 
charmed  circle,  from  which  no  link  can  be  spared  without  detriment 
and  disaster  to  the  whole.  The  country  owes  much  to  you  for  your 
efforts  to  harmonize  and  strengthen  these  mutualities  and  reciproci 
ties  of  relationship. 

The  communities  of  men  are  also  subject  to  the  same  law  of  unity. 
So  long  as  there  is  a  New  York,  an  Ohio,  a  Missouri,  Massachusetts 
cannot  afford  to  be  without  them,  and  they  cannot  afford  to  be  with 
out  her.  There  cannot  be  a  complete  or  a  satisfactory  union  of 
interests  without  a  union  of  States.  You  therefore  will  undoubtedly 
concur  with  me,  that  for  the  most  full  development  and  adjustment 
of  all  the  forces  of  American  industry,  it  is  of  the  first  importance 
that  there  should  be  an  early  and  an  enduring  reiinion  of  all  the 
States  of  this  Confederacy  in  one  common  cause,  and  under  one 
common  flag.  I  cannot  doubt  that  such  assemblages  as  yours,  so 
intelligent  and  so  impressive,  will  aid  in  promoting  the  restoration  of 
an  undivided  nationality  for  which  all  sections  are  anxiously  looking. 

Gentlemen,  the  hearts  of  the  people  of  Massachusetts  greet  you  with 
cordiality,  and  their  hands  will  unite  with  yours  in  the  objects  which 
you  have  assembled  to  promote.  (Loud  applause.) 

The  President  of  the  Convention,  Mr.  Fox,  responded  as  follows: 

YOUR  EXCELLENCY,  MR.  PRESIDENT,  MR.  SPEAKER,  SENA 
TORS  AND  REPRESENTATIVES  :  As  President  of  the  National  Com 
mercial  Convention,  I  am  instructed  by  a  special  resolution  to  express 
to  you  the  profound  sensibility  of  the  high  honor  conferred  by  the 


VISIT    TO    THE    LEGISLATURE.  243 

chosen  representatives  of  the  ancient  Commonwealth  of  Massachu 
setts  in  inviting  us  to  meet  them  in  this  hall. 

To  you,  Governor,  what  can  I  say  ?  Your  greetings  have  been  so 
cordial  and  warm  that  we  are  delighted  to  recognize  in  you  a  firm 
friend  of  the  great  industrial  interests  which  we  are  here  to-day  to 
protect  and  advance.  (Applause.) 

I  have  the  honor  of  presenting  the  members  of  the  National  Com 
mercial  Convention  of  the  United  States  of  America  to  the  civil 
authorities  of  the  Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts.  (Loud  and 
continued  applause.) 

At  the  close  of  these  proceedings  several  of  the  delegates  were 
introduced  to  the  Governor,  the  President  of  the  Senate,  and  the 
Speaker  of  the  House,  and  the  Convention  then  retired  from 
the  hall. 


INDEX. 


PAGE. 

Address  of  Welcome, 1 

Advantages  of  a  National  Chambei'  of  Commerce, 81 

Agriculture  and  Manufactures, 

Committee  ordered, 36,  53 

Resolution  adopted, 93 

Alexander,  Mr.  J.  H., 

Remarks  on  Finance, • 178 

Remarks  on  Relief  to  the  South, .' 107 

American  Tonnage,  Decline  of, 128 

Appointment  of  Committees, 31 

Arrangements  for  Recreation, 39 

Atkinson,  Mr.  E., 

Remarks  on  Finance, 190 

Remarks  on  Ocean  Commerce, 134 

Babcock,  Mr.  S.  D.,  Remarks  on  Direct  Importations, 101 

Bagley,  Mr.  G.  F., 

Speech  at  Banquet, 224 

Vice  President, 27,98 

Balance  of  Trade,  Debate,  on 93, 135 

Banquet  at  Music  Hall, 213 

Barrium,  Mr.  E.  M., 

Application  for  admission, 41 

Speech  at  Banquet, 231 

Basis  of  Voting, 29 

Beaty,  Mr.  J.  T.,  Secretary, 27,41 

Bennett,  Mr.  J.  I.,  Report  on  Manufactures, 93 

Bigelow,  Mr.  E.  B.,  Report  on  Taxation, 105 

Blakely,  Mr.  R.,  Remarks  on  National  Railroad  Law, 154 

Blatchford,  Mr.  E.  W.,  Speech  at  Banquet, 221 

Boston  Board  of  Trade,  Vote  of  Thanks  to, 196 

Brastow,  Mr.  G.  O.,  Welcome  to  State  House, 241 

Bruno t,  Mr.  F., 

Resolution  on  National  good  faith, 207 

Resolution  on  Specific  Duties, 103 

Bryson,  Mr.  M.  A., 

Resolution  on  National  Railroad  Law, 150 

Speech  at  Banquet, 227 

Speech  on  National  Railroad  Law, 154 


240 


INDEX. 


Bullock,  H«>n.  A.  H.,  ^7 

Sjieech  at  Banquet,  %J42 

Sjieech  tit  State  House, 

Iliwliy,  Mr.  G.  L.,  }  M 

Remarks  on  Currency,. . .  1 S3 

Remarks  on  Free  Banking. . .  '  145 

Resolution  on  Free  Banking, -234 

Bynnrr,  Mr.  K-,  S|ieccli  at  Banquet, ' "7y 

Canals,  New  York,. 

Chamber  °f  Commerce,  National,  ^ 

Committee  ordered,. . .  ^ 

Report  of  Committee,. . .  " m^'  J4g 

Coinage,  Change  in 

Cole,  Mr.  X.,  195 

Resolution  on  r  inanee, ' 

Sjieeeh  at  Banquet 

Commerce,  Foreign  ami  Domestic,  ^ 

Committee  on, 1 26 

Report  on 

Committees,  3l 

Ap|K)intment  of, \^ 

A^nieulture  and  Manufactures, 

.  Currency  and  Finance, 

Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce, 

Inland  Transportation, 

National  Chnmlivr  of  Commerce, 53 

Onler  of  Business 48 

Permanent  <  )rjranization, 13 

Rules  and  Orders 1 5 

Taxation, 51 

Weight*  and  Measures, ^4 

Conjrressiomil  liailnmd  Bills, 

Continental  Railways, 

Contracts  in, Gold 47'206 

Coray,  Mr.  G.,  Resolution  on  Weights  and  Measures, 1 1 1 

Covington,  Mr.  S.  F., 

Remarks  on  Massachusetts  Internal  Improvements, 207 

Remarks  on  National  Railroad  Law, I52 

Culver,  Mr.  B.  F.,  Resolutions  on  Shipping  Interest, 1 4 1 

Currency  and  Finance, 

Committee  on, 50 

Debate  on, 143,160 

Report  on, 142 

Davits  Mr.  G.  W.,  Resolution  on  Finance, 177 

Dav.  Mr.  II.  H.,  Application  for  admission, 22 

Debate  on 

Balance  of  Trade, 93 

Currency  and  Finance, 143,  160 

Direct  Importations  to  the.  West, 97 

Internal  Improvements, Ill 

National  Chamber  of  Commerce,.   .  . .  88 


INDEX.  247 

PAGE. 

Debate  on 

National  Railroad  Law, 121,  150 

Printing  Speeches, 55 

Relief  to  the  South, 106 

Shipping  Interest, 132 

Decline  of  American  Tonnage, 128 

DeWitt,  Mr.  A.,  Speech  at  Banquet, * 228 

Direct  Importations  to  Interior, 

Debate  on, 97 

Resolutions  on, 97 

Drawback  for  Shipbuilders, 141 

Dore,  Mr.  J.  C.,  Remarks  on  Finance, 162 

Dorr,  Mr.  E.  P.,  Speech  at  Banquet, 236 

Endicott,  Mr.  W.,  Jr.,  Remarks  on  Finance, 184 

Erie  Railway,  Traffic  on, 69 

Field,  Mr.  M.  W., 

Resolutions  on  Finance, 144 

Speech  on  Finance, 170 

Finance  and  Currency, 

Committee  on, 50 

Debate  on, 143,  160 

Report  on, 142 

Resolutions  adopted, 205 

Foreign  and  Domestic  Commerce, 

Committee  on, 52 

Report  on, 126 

Forsyth,  Mr.  J.,  Resolution  on  Specie  Payments, 104 

Fort,  Mr.  S.  G.,  Speech  at  Banquet, 235 

Fox,  Mr.  E.  W.,  (President,) 

Address  on  his  Election, 28 

Closing  Address, 208 

Letter  to  Legislature, 45 

Speech  at  Banquet, 219 

Speech  at  State  House, 242 

Speech  on  Direct  Importations, 98 

Vote  of  Thanks  to, 207 

Fraley,  Mr.  F., 

Address  as  President  pro  tern., 8 

Report  on  Finance, 142 

Speech  on  Finance, 199 

Free  Banking  Law, 

Mr.  Atkinson's  Resolution, 191 

Mr.  Buzby's  Resolution, 47,  145 

Gano,  Mr.  J.  A., 

Plan  for  National  Chamber  of  Commerce, 84 

Resolutions  of  Thanks, 195 

Gold  Contracts, 47,206 

Gold  Fluctuations,  Cost  of, 137 

Goshorn,  Mr.  A.  T.,  Speech  at  Banquet, 223 

Great  Britain,  National  Chamber  of  Commerce  of, 82 

Steam  Commerce  of, 127 


248  INDEX. 

PAGE. 

Hatch.  Mr.  I.  T.,  Resolution  on  New  York  Canals, 79 

Herrick.  Mr.J.  H.,  Remarks  on  Finance, 182 

Hc-m-y,  Mr.  T.  C.f  Speech  at  Banquet, 235 

Hichbora,  Mr.  X.  G., 

Application  for  Admission 25 

Speech  on  Ocean  Commerce, 139 

Hill,  Mr.  II.  A., 

Elected  Secretary, 27 

Paper  on  National  Chamber  of  Commerce, 81 

Reply  to  Courtesies, 210 

Vote  of  Thanks  to, 196 

Hoffman,  Mr.  C.  J.,  Reports  on  Weights  and  Measures, 92 

Hohun,  Mr.  E.  I)., 

Rejiort  on  Transportation, Ill 

Speech  at  Banquet, 230 

Speech  on  Finance, 194 

Speech  on  National  Railroad  Law, 1 53 

Hootac  Tunnel,  Vote  on, 113,  OQS 

Importations  to  the  West, . .   97 

Inland  Communication, 

Committee  on, 51 

Rej>ort  on, HI 

Internal  Improvements, 

liejiort  on,...  in 

Speech  of  Mr.  Wai  bridge  on, . .   58 

Internal  Taxation, 

Committee  on, 35   5 1 

Re|K»rt  on, 105 

Inter-State  Commerce,  Debate  on, .    1 50 

Legislature, 

Invitation  from, 43 

Kcpiy  to, !"!!!"'.'.'.!!'.!!!!  45 

Visit  to, q4j 

Lincoln,  Mr.  F.  W.,  Jr.,  Remarks  of, 39 

Lbt  of  Members, jQ 

McChesney,  Mr.  R.,  Remarks  on  Finance,.  189 

Maine  Shipbuilders'  Association, 25 

Manufactures  and  Agriculture, 

Committee  on,. .  Qr  .„ 

...  OO,  OO 

Debate  on,. ..  00 

Uo 

Report  on, 93 

Measurement  of  Grain,... 

* . */-£,  iii 

Members,  List  i»t". 

Merriek,  Mr.  S.  V.,  Vice-Indent,. '.'. .  27  207 

National  ChainUT  of  Commerce, 

Committee  on, 

Debate  on, 

Mr.  (iano's  Plan  for,. . . 

Mr.  Hill's  Pa|,er  on, 

Of  Great  Britain,.. 

ol 


INDEX.  249 

J>AGE. 

National  Chamber  of  Commerce, 

Organization  for, 83 

Report  on, 80 

National  Railroad  Law,  Debate  on, 121, 151 

National  Railroad  System, 59 

Navy  and  Merchant  Service,  Relations  between, 131 

Nazro,  Mr.  C.  G., 

Address  of  Welcome 1 

Reply  to  Mr.  Gario's  Resolutions, 197 

Resolution  on  Taxing  United  States  Bonds, 161 

Speech  at  Banquet, 239 

Speech  on  Direct  Importations, 99 

New  York  Canals, 79 

New  York  Central  Railroad, 69 

( >cean  Steam  Navigation, 126 

Officers,  List  of, 27 

Order  of  Business, 

Committee  on, : 42, 49 

Report  on, 79 

Organization, 

Committee  on, 13 

Permanent, 27 

Temporary, 7 

Pacific  Railroad, 61 

Permanent  Organization, 27 

Potter,  Mr.  T.,  Remarks  on  Tariff  Duties, 95 

Printing  Speeches,  Debate  on, 55 

Publication  of  Proceedings  authorized, 125 

Railroad  Bills,  Congressional, 70 

Railroad  Courtesies, 

Boston  and  Albany, 40 

Michigan  Central, 55 

Michigan  Southern, 80 

Old  Colony, '. 141 

Railroad,  Erie,  Traffic  on A 69 

Railroad  Law,  National, 59,  121,  151 

Railroad  Management, , 63 

Railroad,  New  York  Central,  Traffic  on, 69 

Railroad  Statistics, 66 

Recreations,  Arrangements  for, 39 

Redistribution  of  the  Currency, 201 

Relief  to  the  South 106, 1 1 9 

Reports  of  Committees, 

Agriculture  and  Manufactures, 93 

Commerce,  Foreign  and  Domestic, 126 

Currency  and  Finance, 142 

National  Chamber  of  Commerce, 80 

Order  of  Business, 79 

Permanent  Organization, 27 

Relief  to  the  South, 119 

Rules  and  Orders,..  ..   29 


INDEX. 


K,  l-.n>  of  Committee*, 
Taxation,... 

Tnin>|M»rtatiun,...  ,,2 
W.-i-hts  and  Measures,.  .  . 

-.  ...110 

Chan"?  in  Coinage,...  ^05 

(  'unvncy  ami  Finance,  us  adopted  .......................  '  ~^_ 

Free  Bankiii}:  Uiw,.  .  .  4- 

(Jolil  Contnu-ts,...  ]17 

Internal  Improvements,...  196 

Mr.  (Jano's,...  74 

Mr.  Walbridge's,.  .  ->07 

National  Good  Failh,...  '"\w 

National  Hailroatl  Law,.  196   "07 

Of  Thank...  "\w,~i  19 

"l04    l-'O 
' 


Duties  ................................. 

Hopes,  Mr.  J.  S..  ()5 

SIHVC!I  on  Balanc-e  of  Trade,  ......................  159 

SjHxrh  on  Finnnce,.  .  .  14  09 

Rule*  ami  Orders,... 
RtiMuU,  Mr.  Ct.lkvtor,  ul 

Invitntion  from,  .............  '216 

Speech  at  Banquet,  .........  ...........................  '^ 

SapJ,  Mr.  J.  ('.,  Socrctary,...  .......................  ~'\4\ 

Shi|.!milders,  Drawback  for,  ....................................................... 

Ship  Canal,  ]17 

M  i-i^ippi,  to  the  Lakes  ........................................... 

...  LL2,  118 

Niagara,  .............................................. 

Shipping  Interest,  The,  ........  .......................................  U  ' 

Shurt  U-lV.  Mr.  Mayor,  S|»m-h  Jit  Banquet,  .........................................  - 

Mouthcrn  Statni,  Relief  to,  .....................................................         iS' 

Sj«t  ilie  Duties  ...................  .................................  '  '  '  ' 

Stnusties,  Bank  (  'ircnlation,  ..............................................  171,18 

cj*.  Prices  of  Commodities,  ............. 


Statistic*,  KailrtMul,  ................................................................    '  ] 

Steam  Commenr,  ....... 


.  Mr.  J.  A.,.Ir., 

Hcsolutions  on  Finance,  ................................................  l  '  5 

liesolntion  on  Change  in  Coinajre,  ....................................  149 

Speech  «n  Finance,  .....................................................  1  "6 

Tail,  Mr.  J.,  Resolution  in  aid  of  the  South,  ..................................  106,119 

Tariff  Duties,  DeUite  on,  ............  ...................    <J3 

Taxatii'ii. 

(  'ominittec  on,  .............  .....................................   "'  l 

«  >f  (ioveniment  Bonds  ............................................  .  1  6  1  ,  207 

Resolutions  on  ...........................................................  105 

Taylor.  Mr.  J.  \V.. 

1  J.--  .hi  t  i.  .11  on  Specie  Payments,  .......................................  1  20 

Speech  at  Banquet,  .....................................................  229 

on  Internal  Improvement.*,  ....................................  115 


INDEX.  251 

PA(i£. 

Taylor,  Mr.  S.  L.,  Speech  on  Finance, 166 

Temporary  Organization, 7 

Toboy,  Mr.  E.  S., 

Report  on  Commerce, 1  26 

Speech  on  Commerce, 132 

Tonnage,  Decline  of  American, 128 

Transportation, 

Committee  on, 51 

Report  on, Ill 

Turpin,  Mr.  V.  A.,  Amendment  on  Currency, 161 

Usnry  Laws, -. 203,  207 

Visit  to  the  Legislature, 

Invitation, 43 

Letter  of  Acceptance, 45 

Speeches  at  State  House, 241 

Votinp-,  Basis  of, 29 

Wulbridge,  Mr.  H., 

Report  on  National  Chamber  of  Commerce, 80 

Resolutions  on  Internal  Improvements, 74 

Resolution  on  National  Railroad  Law, 121 

Speech  at  Banquet, 220 

Speech  on  Internal  Improvements, 74 

Speech  on  National  Railroad  Law, 156 

War,  Effect  of,  on  American  Commerce, 139 

Weights  and  Measures, 

Committee  on, 54 

Mr.  Coray's  Resolution, *. Ill 

Report  on, 92 

Wetherill,  Mr.  J.  P., 

Speech  at  Banquet, 226 

Speech  on  Condition  of  the  South, 109 

Speech  on  Finance, 168 

Wood,  Mr.  E.  R,,  Speech  on  Finance, 165 


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UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 


